The Way We Move
by CrashMind
Summary: The Strife boys like to dance, Leonheart's looking for love, The Argents will take over the world and the Raunch-Valentines just can't help messing things up. Akuroku, RiSo, Cleon, Zemyx
1. Chapter 1

**Diclaimer:** I don't own it - if I did there'd be way more sexual innuendo and not a lot else would get done. The characters should be thankfull they have Square Enix and Disney guarding them.

It's my first KH fic and I'm trying to make it not-awful (this can be testified by my unofficial beta who I harrass every five minutes) so reviews would be greatly appreciated. At this stage its rated M for language. Enjoy XD

* * *

**Roxas Strife**

* * *

I hate waking up with someone else's hand down my pants.

The fact that I can immediately recognise the sensation of a clammy palm pressed against…well, areas that only my own hand should be touching at seven fifteen a.m. should probably worry me, but to be honest its becoming a regular occurrence; one of those things that just happens. Along the same lines as opening the refrigerator door only to discover that Sora ate all of _my_ chocolate or that Namine took the only bottle of cold water to clean her paintbrushes - what can you do other than shrug and sigh and accept that it's neither the first nor the last time it'll happen?

Granted, my family thieving my food and finding a stranger's hand groping you in the morning probably don't fall under the same category of unavoidable issues, but the point I'm trying to make is it's a very common problem for me - and this in itself is, I guess, is also very disturbing.

I glanced over my shoulder and found that in the dim grey light I didn't recognise the girl lying in the bed beside me. A bed that I should point out is made for _one_ and having two bodies pressed into it meant that I was both uncomfortable and over-heated. On the other hand I'm pretty much just pleased that it's someone I don't know, since it'd be a shame to ruin a friendship through some sort of accidental sexual encounter that I won't remember and should probably contact a psychiatrist over. Or at the very least talk to my brothers about.

This would be a pretty good time to get the hand off my crotch.

I rolled my shoulder to dislodged the arm, realising that it wasn't actually down my pants, but only because I didn't seem to be wearing any – and great, because doesn't that just make everything more shameful? At least she could have told me that the elastic waistband had trapped her hand there with no possible chance of escape and in a desperate attempt not to wake me, me the total stranger whose house she was in, she had resigned herself to waiting until I'd come to consciousness on my own. And despite the fact that no one talks like that, I would have accepted that story quite happily, but instead my only option was to roll out of bed and use my foot to pick through the clothes scattered across the floor until I found my old, faded jeans. Then I found a clean pair of boxers from the drawer and pulled them on, quickly followed by the jeans and the nearest t-shirt before I shuffled out of the room, letting the door click shut a little too loudly now that I was in the safety of the Strife family living room.

Of course 'safety' is a relative term.

About a year and a half ago my mother announced that she was moving up to Destiny Island to take care of Grandma and Grandpa Strife who were clearly far, far too sick to take care of themselves or each other. Contrary to our mothers apparent belief, Cloud, Sora and I are not complete idiots, we are intelligent young men who achieve good grades at school - mostly - and keep ourselves out of trouble - rarely - and knew for a fact that our Grandparents were in perfectly good health since we visit them on the Island every year and Grandpa had spoken to Sora on the phone the day before our mother's declaration. What my mother actually meant was that she couldn't tolerate our father's presence – or absence - anymore and figured we were old enough to cope without her; which pleased us more than a mother's abandonment of her children probably should.

My father is one of those men who works nine to five but won't actually leave the office until eleven, he also travels constantly and comes back home for two to three weeks every four to five months. Not that you'd notice the difference. And I don't feel nearly as bitter about it as I just sounded. In fact I kind of enjoy it. With both parents out of the way it leaves Cloud in charge - and you can imagine exactly what kind of authority figure a twenty one year old is to his seventeen year old brothers. No kind of authority figure is the answer you're looking for. Aside from the occasional request to tidy up after ourselves Cloud let's us do what we want. And in return for this freedom, when Cloud asks us to do something we do it. You could also chalk up our speedy acceptance of his commands to a desire to remain alive, but Cloud is secretly a big pussycat despite his stoic presence and somewhat terrifying glaring powers.

And so we existed quite happily like this until roughly a year ago - maybe eleven months, maybe thirteen, you'll have to go to Namine for the specifics. Our aunt and uncle on dad's side are pretty illusive relatives, they both like science as a hobby as well as a profession. You know in exams when you get questions like 'Ellen and Billy wondered about the pH levels of their local pond and whether the water contained excess levels of natural minerals. One Saturday morning they decide to do some experiments to find out…'? You know the questions you almost forget to answer because you're too busy wondering what could possibly be so wrong with Ellen and Billy's home lives that they think this is fun activity for a Saturday morning? Well, my aunt and uncle are Ellen and Billy. I don't mean those are their names, I mean when they aren't working all the shifts they can possibly get at Hollow Bastion General Hospital they're down at the pond checking the waters pH level – purely for shits and giggles.

Now try and imagine what a disappointment it must be for two people who live and _breathe_ science to have two children that excel in the arts and seemingly have no natural aptitude for the beloved sciences.

Now try and imagine how awful it must be for the kids to know that's how their parents feel.

So it was probably a relief when Uncle Donald announced that he and our aunt would be packing up and leaving for a two year program in some third-world country helping the sick and needy and probably using their free time to run tests on all the pond water they can find. Because of course that meant their two artistically gifted children would be shipped off to Twilight Town to live with their six-months-independent cousins. Not that there was much change _there_ either since Namine and Demyx had spent nearly every weekend with us since me and Sora hit five years old. Not to mention family gatherings. They're more like siblings than cousins anyway.

And so the Strife household mutated from a respectable two-parents three-kids - does it count as 2.5 since Sora and I are twins? - home into a house run by five kids with the occasional shadow of a parent drifting in to sleep for days on end before patting us all on the head and leaving for work again, probably very uncertain of exactly which of the five children he fathered.

And so when I say the 'safety' of the living room, it really all depends on exactly which members of our odd little household are up and conscious. For instance Namine leaves the atmosphere pretty laid-back, Cloud gives laid-back a slightly threatening edge, Demyx drops the overall IQ score of the house by a fair few points and Sora…well sometimes I wonder if it'd be easier to live with a puppy on crack.

Ok, he probably isn't that bad. But while Cloud and I inherited our Dad's easy nature and dubious social skills, Sora seemed to inherit an incorrigible optimism and phenomenal energy level that could only have come from our eccentric Grandmother. And just to make life more fun for the rest of us, Sora has trouble sleeping; meaning he's the last one in bed and the first one out of it.

…and that makes it sound like we all pile into one bed at the end of the day but I promise that isn't the case. Five whole separate bedrooms. Upstairs Cloud took over our parent's old room – so now Dad is banished to the couch whenever he deigns to make an appearance – Namine has mine and Sora's old room and Demyx has Cloud's old room. Downstairs we have an open-plan living room kitchen, and we used to have a dining room and a study, but those were converted into mine and Sora's new rooms. The rooms were used so little before that I don't think our dad has even realised that we've had it changed – that or he doesn't think much of his youngest sons sleeping on the dining room table.

Just as I'd suspected, when I turned from my door and moved off towards the sofa Sora was sat there beaming at me with a magazine in his lap and holding out a Styrofoam cup, the contents of which was steaming and smelled richly of chocolate. I took it gratefully and dropped onto the sofa beside him.

"Morning." He declared with a smile and from his bright eyes and bushy tail – metaphorical of course – I guessed he'd been up for a few hours. Or else he hadn't gone to bed yet.

"Good night?" I asked as a way of phrasing my speculation. Sora understood.

"Yeah, Cloud drove me and Demyx to Traverse Town; we got back about an hour ago." He gestured towards the kitchen and I saluted my older brother, who responded with a nod as he ate cereal from the box while he leant against the kitchen counter. Both of them had changed into sweatpants and t-shirts but I imagine that not an hour ago Cloud had been wearing leather pants.

Strife boys like clubs. It's a fact. Demyx likes anyplace where they play the music far too loud to be healthy, Sora likes to expel his ridiculous energy levels and Cloud has a not-so-secret secret love of leather pants and a club is one of the few places he can wear them without his angelic younger brothers cracking jokes every five seconds.

Cloud had over heard Sora's statement and sauntered over to us, dropping onto the sofa beside me and offering some cereal, I grabbed a hand-full and ate it slowly between sips of hot chocolate.

"Where were you?" Cloud asked, "I thought you were gonna come with us."

"Yeah I was, uh, busy." I replied vaguely.

"Doing?"

I shot Cloud a glance, because Cloud was using a tone I recognised, a tone that meant he looked into my room to check if I had come home last night and had seen the pretty girl cuddled up to me and knew _exactly_ what I had been doing but was choosing to feign ignorance until I told him myself.

Because my big brother is cruel and has no sex life of his own. Poor boy.

"There's a girl in my bed." I replied deadpan.

"Yet another victim." Cloud nodded sombrely.

"It's hard not to fall victim to the Strife charm." Sora added cheerfully taking a sip of his hot chocolate and whimpering because it burnt his tongue. At least it is burnt in a charmingly Strife way. Apparently.

"Roxas' personal charm is a little different," Cloud informed our brother the whimperer, "A comparison between being lovingly courted and having a caveman beat you over the head with his club – or in this case skateboard – and drag you back to his pit."

"Go fuck yourself," I replied emptily, too soon out of unconsciousness to come up with anything resembling wit.

"But honestly, you are verging on sexual deviancy." Cloud replied with a level expression and without sounding particularly concerned despite the statement.

"I think it has to be intentional for it to count as sexual deviancy."

"So you're what?" Sora asked, briefly grabbing the cereal box from Cloud and ignoring his slight noise of protest. "A blackout nymphomaniac?"

"Nymphomania is the female condition, in men it's called satyromania," I replied before taking another mouth full of hot chocolate, trying to suck up a few of the marshmallows Sora had dropped in for me.

"You know who would know that, Rox? A nymphomaniac."

I responded by hitting him over the head with a cushion. Sora was about to mount a retaliation strike when he paused and a second later my bedroom door opened and out sneaked the pretty brunette. She glanced up and froze, clearly having hoped to leave unnoticed. No such luck, the TV is against the wall that sections off my bedroom, so the sofa faces my door. She was standing in a situation I have found myself in many a time – trying to leave my room undetected only to find my brothers and cousins smirking at me from the sofa. Well, Demyx struggled to smirk, he usually just looks happy with maybe a hint of smug.

I gave an innocuous cough and found a particularly interesting section of ceiling to watch, allowing our guest some privacy, Sora beamed pleasantly and Cloud didn't change his expression.

"Hi." She said nervously, and when I met her eyes I realised she was one of the regulars at The Usual Spot.

"Hi." I responded without enthusiasm and I felt Sora dig his elbow into my ribs. In Sora world that is a signal to tell me I'm being rude. I shot him a glare and attempted a smile though I'm pretty sure it looked more like a wince. "How are you, uhm…?"

There was a very tense moment in which I almost wished for Demyx – because that boy could start up a conversation about the colour of the carpet and not shut up for a year.

"Olette, right?" Sora asked and I had never loved my twin more. I told him this with the telepathic powers I don't have. "I think you were in my physics class last year?"

"Yeah." She smiled, or attempted to. "I'm guessing you're Sora and Cloud? Roxas mentioned you both."

Did I?

"Well you know Roxas," Cloud spoke for the first time since the door opened, slinging an arm across my shoulders. "Roxas likes to talk about his brother's…during sex apparently."

"No he didn't – not during…it was…uh…" Olette's cheeks were suddenly very red and I felt the need to hit my head against a hard, flat surface because no matter how many times this situation occurs it will never be any less unpleasant.

"Uh, I should go. I have to get to work." She said quickly as her cheeks moved through red and ventured into burgundy.

"Yeah, summer jobs, what a joy eh?" Sora responded as though this wasn't one of the most awkward situations to ever exist. Maybe for Sora it wasn't – but I'm pretty sure the whole point of being a twin is that if I have to squirm so does _he_.

"Aren't you supposed to be going to Main Street with Demyx and Sora soon anyway Roxas?" Cloud asked, his tone void of particular emotion again as he glanced at the ceiling, probably trying to figure out if Demyx had gone to sleep after their late night.

"Uh, yes, yes I am." I responded quickly, because that would indeed be a reason for me to leave very soon. And If I have to leave so does she. Unless she fancies spending the day with Cloud. I probably shouldn't make that offer though.

"Right so I'll, uh, see you around." Olette said timidly, pausing briefly as though waiting for me to give a negative or positive response. Or maybe I was supposed to offer to call her. Why offer if I wasn't going to? But the pause continued on.

Sensing my discomfort Sora jumped to the rescue…

"Well if you don't see him around at least now you know where he lives!"

…or not.

Olette laughed as politely as possible whilst trying to figure out which was the front door. Cloud jerked a thumb in the right direction. "The exit is there."

Did I imagine the slightly longing tone in his voice? I must have, I'm sure Cloud adores every minute he gets to spend with us.

I managed to work up enough chivalry to get off the couch – by which I mean Sora pushed me off – and walk her to the door, and even say goodbye with a fair level of friendliness and without sounding overly cheerful at the thought of her departure. Or I thought I had until I shut the door behind her.

"You're a bastard, Rox." Sora admonished.

"What? Why, what did I do?"

"See what I mean? Like being clubbed by a caveman." Cloud declared matter-of-factly, rising and heading towards the kitchen, clearly mentally debating whether to eat more cereal or put the box back in the cupboard.

"I hope you're better behaved when you get them _into_ bed than when you kick them out." Sora frowned.

"It's very unlikely." A voice said and I glanced over to the stairs to see Namine hovering midway up with a joking smile on her face. She could have been stood there since before I woke up for all I know – she moves like a ghost. "I heard him being quite unpleasant to some boy the other night and they still ended up in bed together."

I shot Namine a tense look whilst my brain clamped down on my mouth before the words 'shut up and die' could slip out. It's hard to be mad at Namine; I don't think she has any ill-intention in her. I told her to fuck off once when we were eight and she cried – Demyx punched me in the face though, I learnt my lesson.

"Two in one week? Roxas you dog." Sora laughed, and I felt my shoulders drop as I relaxed.

While my family knows about my frequent 'night-time-visitors' – if you're asking Demyx – or 'victims' – if you're asking Cloud – I tend to get the males ones out of the house before anyone notices his lack of breasts; because knowing of my sexual preference – or lack thereof – and witnessing it are very different things. And if my family were to _witness_ it then we might have to _talk_ about it and we all know that would be uncomfortable. More than uncomfortable, like…uncomfortable times three…or something.

Not that it should surprise me that Sora is ok with it since he has that…_thing_ with Riku that he likes to pretend we don't know about, and Namine told me outright that she _knew _when she found the stack of Jane Austen books under my bed. Demyx spends too much time talking about nothing to notice anything that goes on, and Cloud is Cloud and he knows everything anyway and accepts it without changing his expression. Plus it only occurred to me that I didn't have to limit myself to girls when Cloud was seventeen and I was thirteen and caught him making out with the Black haired, blue eyed boy next door.

I snapped out of my thought process and grunted in reply to Sora as Namine went to the kitchen to look in the fridge and Cloud watched me evenly for a minute.

"You don't really need help for this, do you Roxas?" He asked and there was a slight amount of concern in his voice.

I returned his gaze steadily for a few moments, thinking. It was worrying, how frequently I'd been waking up with someone else in my bed and having little memory of how they got there and little memory of whom they even were. The only consistency seemed to be that it tended to happen after I'd been in the night clubs, not every time, but increasingly often.

I rolled my eyes at Cloud in the end. "Cloud, I'm not the first person in the world to drink too much and get laid." I smirked a little, "Maybe you should try it sometime."

Cloud threw the cereal box at my head.

**

The Usual Spot is a coffee shop that sits on the corner of Main Street and the short, unnamed road that leads to The Square. It has two walls of windows to allow customers to watch the pedestrian traffic and in the back corner is a set of metal stairs that lead into what was once a basement but now is used as a gallery, displaying the works of Twilight Town's young artists. The walls feature artwork by students of Hollow Bastion College, and I'm usually proud to note the majority of them are Namine's – though this could be due to my blatant favouritism. The Usual Spot sits opposite Blue Sitar, the music shop, and between Ancients, the second hand book store, and Orgy, the organic fruit and vegetable shop (and trust me you wouldn't believe how disappointed Sora and I were to first walk into a shop named Orgy and find ourselves staring at apples as far as the eye could see).

The Usual Spot is pretty well named, since half the community of Twilight Town comes in at some time or other, and we have so many regulars I find it hard to keep track of them – despite the lectures on how I'm supposed to smile my best little smile at any one who comes in on a daily basis. But for all its reputation and busy flow of customers there is still a point during the day when the place just dies.

And that is usually the time that – with the exception of Friday, well known as Pretend-to-clean-the-coffee-machine Day - I pull out a book, wander over to the nearest couch and coffee table cluster – because tables and chairs are for restaurant and coffee is best appreciated when reclining in the luxury of a sofa – and put my feet up until holding the book in the air over may face as I lay back against the cushions and waited for the next drabble of customers comes wandering in at around five o'clock.

Which is why, when three fifty-three rolled around and I'd been deep into a book with my mind off in the seventeenth century England I almost didn't hear the small bell jingle as the door opened. Well, I say almost didn't hear, to be honest I _definitely_ didn't hear it and five minutes later a figure stood beside me politely clearing his throat.

I jumped the smallest amount but will never admit that out loud, and glanced up, trying not to show my surprise. The only people who ever come in at this time of day are Sora and Demyx who tend to come in for coffee on their break; but I knew for a fact that Sora would be sat next door in Ancients organising shelves and Demyx would be over the road in Blue Sitar singing along to music and pretending to work.

I saw the top of a head and trained my expression into a bored stare as I lowered my book enough to make eye contact. Schooling my expression turned out to be superfluous because the man stood before me had his eyes glued to the book in my hands.

"Sexing the Cherry?" He asked with a quirked eyebrow.

I snapped the book shut and sighed a little as I sat up and got to my feet, walking behind the counter and putting the book down in its usual hiding place. "Can I get you something?"

"You were reading a book called _Sexing the Cherry_?" The guy asked and I took a moment to take him in. Tall, pink hair tied back in a scruffy ponytail and the jeans and paint stained, long-sleeved tee that were characteristic of the art kids around town. I recognised him as one of the regular contributors to The Usual Spots personal art gallery. Mar something – although I knew this from seeing the name under the artwork he brought in rather than from any sort of interaction. Our relationship until this point had been strictly coffee names on his part and corresponding prices on mine.

"Yeah. Would you like some coffee?"

"You know that's a girl's book?"

"I wasn't aware books had genders."

"If they did, that one would be female."

"And you know because?"

"I know because I've read it."

"So we're both women, great. Now order a coffee."

The pink haired guy grinned slightly and asked politely for two black coffees, a caramel macchiato and a hot chocolate all to go. I tried very hard not to glare at him but turned my back on him completely whilst I worked the coffee machine. When I eventually did turn back around he was leaning against the counter watching me with a small smirk tilting his lips. I put the coffee on the counter; he slid the munny towards me.

"See you around." He smiled pleasantly but didn't entirely manage to hide the smirk that was making me a little nervous.

"Yeah, bye." I responded emptily as I watched him cross the street – to make sure he was definitely leaving – and stop beside a blonde girl and a guy with insane red hair before all three went into Blue Sitar.

Content that he was gone, I went back to my book.**

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Sora Strife**

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Roxas is a walking contradiction. I know this better than anyone because not only am I his brother but I am his _twin_ brother – and as we all know twins come with certain magical attributes, like telepathy and the ability to jump ravines in a single bound.

True story.

Ok, maybe it was a small gorge.

Or a pot-hole, but it really depends who you ask and – just so you know – Roxas is a liar.

But the point of this was not the minimum measure of a hole for it to qualify as a ravine. The point is that while Roxas as a child was the quiet boy that spent most of his time clutching my hand – in a manly way – and refusing to interact with the other kiddies, he has grown up into an intelligent and charming delinquent…who still refuses to interact with the other kiddies, though I put this down to Cloud's bad influence.

The thing about Roxas is that his name is most often heard as a tired sigh emitted by some sort of authority figure – because if the science lab is on fire, the staff's cars are all missing or the neighbourhood plants have been replaced by cacti; you can guarantee Rox was behind it. He once punched a guy in the face for accidentally knocking me over and his social skills verge on non-existent, because no matter what he says a skateboard is not a living being.

Having said all this Roxas is also one of the most thoughtful people I know, he thinks more than anyone else in the house, although with Demyx that isn't exactly a challenge, and he could probably quote entire scenes of Romeo and Juliet. Not that he ever would. And we would never ask him to because none of us know about his 'secret' love of romance. Right. And me and Cloud have definitely never giggl-_chuckled_ in a masculine tone over the collection of extremely feminine books he keeps under his bed in place of the playboys any self-respecting teenage boy has.

But to be honest I love Roxas as he is, his don't-give-a-shit attitude and quiet genius is what makes him _Roxas_. So it worries me when he starts acting like…well not-Roxas. An Anti-Roxas if you will. More than a Riku but not quite a Tidus.

Ok, maybe not that extreme. But whilst Roxas loves dancing like a fool in clubs as much as the next Strife he doesn't usually indulge in the part where you get drunk off your face and go home with the nearest living-breathing person. Unlike Tidus. Thus my comparison.

And as his twin I know that this is bothering Roxas just as much as it's concerning me – which is why when he says he doesn't think there's a problem, I know very well that my dear brother is lying.**

* * *

Roxas Strife**

* * *

Pink haired guy came back the next day, at roughly the same time, and I gave him a suspicious glance from where I had been staring out of the window congratulating myself on waking up alone, he shot me a cheerful smile and sent me a wave, I shot him a glower and sent him the cold shoulder; then I ignored him until he'd chosen his coffee.

"Marluxia."

I didn't move from the sofa, just dragged my eyes away from the sky to shoot him a bland look because that was definitely not the name of a coffee.

"My name is Marluxia," He clarified, standing hesitantly between my sofa and the counter. He said it with a gentlemanly tone, the kind you put on to be extra polite and I wondered if he was taking the piss out of me and my set-in-the-seventeenth-century book.

"Are you going to order a coffee?"

Marluxia sighed and moved back to the counter to stare at the lists of products. After a few minutes he cleared his throat and I rose reluctantly from my warm soft spot and went to pour a black coffee a hot chocolate and a caramel macchiato before I watched him cross the street and meet the blonde girl from yesterday. And just like yesterday the two pushed open the door to the Blue Sitar and went inside; only this time Marluxia paused on the threshold and glanced back at me over his shoulder and I tried very hard to look like I wasn't watching him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Diclaimer: **I still don't own it, though this fact makes me weep.

**Author's Note:** Hopefully still not-awful. Reviews are always appreciated. Also I think I deserve a point for managing to use the word 'moogle' with a straight face.

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**Demyx Strife**

* * *

I believe in the opinion that things 'will happen or they won't'. That might not make sense because obviously if something happens it happens and if it doesn't then it didn't so obviously things _will_ happen or they _won't_, right?

But what I mean is; if destiny has set a course for a car to swerve around a duck and hit a tree then me hoping it won't happen isn't going to deter the fates is it? Sora is into the power of positive thinking and Namine believes in Karma, but I know that helping an old lady cross the road today won't stop me being hit by a bus tomorrow.

That is not to say that I didn't help the old lady cross the road, I did, Cloud was there, I have witnesses.

There _is_ a point to this and what I'm trying to say is that some things are just bound to happen, I can't change them but it doesn't mean I can't be optimistic that things will go my way.

So when a couple of my friends visit me at work and the first words out of Marluxia's mouth are "I want into Coffee Boy's pants" I can hope and pray and _wish_ and be optimistic that despite the fact that he's holding styrofoam coffee cups from The Usual Spot, despite the fact that he told me that The Usual Spot is his new favourite coffee place and despite the fact that I just watched him leave The Usual Spot and walk over here, he's actually talking about _another_ Coffee Boy in _another_ coffee shop and _not_ stood in my sanctuary lusting after my cousin and very favourite Roxas.

But as I said; destiny won't change just because I'm looking hopeful.

So I sat on my swivel-stool behind the counter and stared on, appalled, as one of my very favourite people stood beside the A-D section of CD's in front of the single, large window and stared over the road –hoping to catch sight of Roxas.

I think you'd shudder too.

I also think that you – like me – would grab your optimism by its balls and demand it hurls itself into work…I don't really know where I'm going with that metaphor but what I mean is I was forcing myself into optimistic overload, because really they could be talking about anyone – _anyone_ – else. Maybe there was some other Coffee Boy on shift today. Maybe Leon had actually sauntered in to do some work, or maybe someone was in there _drinking_ coffee. I'd pretty much be happy if a golden retriever came skipping out through the glass doors with a name tag reading 'Coffee Boy'.

Of course then I'd have to spend some serious time worrying over Marluxia's new found bestiality fetish and why someone would make a dog wear pants.

Also why a golden retriever? Because I'm pretty sure if Roxas was a dog he'd be something else; something a little more excitable and possibly over-aggressive.

Why am I thinking this now?

I was forced to stop my doggy thoughts when Larxene pushed a hot chocolate into my hands and quirked an eyebrow at Marluxia. "Coffee Boy?" I was still too busy staring at the pink-headed-fiend in what I can only assume was shock and disgust. Not that there's anything wrong with Roxas that Marluxia shouldn't like him. Just, you know…ew.

"Yeah," Marluxia was craning his neck to try and see Roxas through the single, dusty window in the shop. "You know the blonde kid that works in the coffee shop art gallery place?"

And at this point I was still hopeful, because 'Blonde kid' isn't exactly a dead-on accurate description of Roxas is it? He could still be talking about someone else.

Now Larxene was standing at the window too. "Not seeing a blonde kid, Marl."

"He's probably on the sofa reading."

Crap.

"Does he even bat for your team?"

"He was reading a romance novel yesterday."

Shit.

"You know, Romance novels aren't always indicative of homosexuality." A soft voice called from the side room – which combined break room and store room.

"Yeah." I added feebly, because a point for heterosexuality is a point against Roxas. Or something. Mind you, I'd probably have agreed with him if he had walked in dressed as Squeaky the Wonder Guinea-Pig and told me that you should shave a camel on the third full moon of every decade. Not that he would. In fact why would anyone?

"Is he cute?" Larxene was asking, and I have to say she is a crap female because aren't women supposed to be able to detect distress in someone's voice? And I'm pretty freaking distressed right now.

Then again I might be thinking of Lassie.

"He's gorgeous. He looks kind of like the brunette kid in Ancients. Who is also extremely cute."

"OH MY FUCKING _GOD_ NO!"

…

Yeah that was me.

Apparently yelling is the first reaction when you suddenly imagine a close friend in a threesome with your twin cousins.

The second reaction is therapy.

"Stop imagining my cousins naked!"

Overreaction is apparently the third.

Marluxia and Larxene had jumped at my yelling and were now both stood staring at me with a look of total confusion. "What?" Marluxia asked after a second.

"_Oh_!" Larxene was back at the window in a second, putting much more effort into seeing into the coffee shop. "That's Cloud?"

"Roxas." I corrected.

"Right, Roxas. So then the kid in Ancients must be Sora?"

"Yeah." I agreed.

"They're your cousins?" Marluxia asked in a cross between horror and joy.

"Yes."

"Your _cousins_?"

"Yes."

"You understand that word right Marl?" the voice asked lazily from the side room.

"Yes, I understand familial terminology Zexion. What I'm saying is; Demyx, he is your _cousin_? Do you know what this means?"

"That if you touch him inappropriately I am morally obliged to tell Cloud?"

"No…what?" Marluxia shook his head to indicate that he didn't want clarification on that comment. "What it means is that you can put in a good word for me."

"'No' seems like a pretty good word." Came Zexion's disembodied voice once again, and I was definitely on the disembodied voice's side in this argument Even though I generally make it a rule to oppose disembodied voices – but that's just because I'm generally cautious of anything disembodied.

"I wasn't asking you Zex, he isn't _your_ cousin." Marluxia responded in a snit.

"You're right, he's Demyx cousin, has it not occurred to you how awkward that would be for Dem?"

"No,"

"Well, that's because you're a bastard and you think with your penis. Please try and imagine it now."

"My penis?"

"The awkward situation, you jackass."

I smirked a little at this, but seeing the blank expression as Marluxia stared at the wall immediately killed my fleeting joy; because if he was even bothering to imagine the awkwardness he didn't give two shits about it.

"I can live with it." He declared after a few more moments of silence.

The side door banged open at that and Zexion appeared holding a box of new CD's ready to be sorted onto the shelves. Be still my heart, for there is nothing better than the sight of a slightly dusty Zexion in all his womanly-haired and tight-t-shirted glory during a discussion that could lead to my cousin being defiled.

"Ok." Zexion relented. "If you care more about your cock then about one of your best friends then we'll see how well you fair in this particular endeavour."

"…I was with you as far as cock." Marluxia responded and I won't bother telling you how many innuendos I came up with in those three seconds because they are too numerous and I'm sure you can come up with some of your own.

Though I managed to keep the innuendos in my head I did snort in a very unattractive way. But I don't think Zexion noticed. Or if he did he didn't respond to it - and really, where is the change there?

"What I'm saying is; go for it." Zexion shrugged. "But Demyx won't help you."

And for a moment I loved Zexion. Because there is no way on God's Green Earth that I was going to try and have a conversation with Roxas involving sentences like 'so your not seeing anyone right now' and 'don't you think Marluxia is kinda cute?' because for one thing it's creepy and for another it's been a while since Roxas punched anybody and I'd rather not be on the angry end of his skateboard.

"I don't need Demyx's help. I can do just fine on my own."

Larxene turned towards us at this, taking a sip of her caramel macchiato. "Well that's something I feel we need to see." I love Larxene. No one pulls of passive-aggressive like Larxene does. "You can try hitting on Coffee Boy, _without_ the magical help of marvellous Demyx. But I think you owe it to the rest of our little gang to let us witness your epic failure."

"Why do I owe it to you?" Marluxia demanded, glossing over the part about his coming failure, because Marluxia is a cocky son of a bitch and isn't sure what 'failure' is when it comes to…what's the right metaphor? Hitting his target? Catching his prey? Chopping his wood...wait that might mean something else. I think I got the point across.

"Because many times you have stolen the object of one of our affections, purely because you could." She was trying very hard not to sound bitter. It wasn't working. "I think it would be a nice change for us to see you get told where to stick it…and not in the fun way."

Marluxia gave a sarcastically sweet smile and muttered something about Larxene needing to get over herself. I've only just noticed it now, but Marly really is a bastard. Unfortunately for us he's also fun when he gets his head out of his ass.

"Fine," He said in the end. "Same time tomorrow, Dem has the day off he can witness my brilliance whilst Zexion looks after-"

"No," Zexion cut in with a soft smirk. I love the way Zexion talks, he rarely raises his voice but he says everything with such authority that you can't help but listen. No, I'm not swooning. "Blue Sitar won't die if I close up for an hour."

Marluxia frowned but nodded anyway. "Fine."

"And Axel will be here." Larxene chirped happily at Marluxia's darkening expression.

"I'm touched by your unswerving and never ending support." Marluxia grunted, sipping his now cooler coffee.

"Aw, don't be like that Marly!" I told him with a smile, because it's not nice to think the world is against you. "We don't all want you to crash and burn."

This of course was a complete lie.

**

* * *

Cloud Strife

* * *

**

I don't really mind that I have to look after Sora and Roxas. I didn't kick up a fuss when our parents all but abandoned us, I didn't call our mom and demand she get on the next plane home, I didn't even take my irritation out on the satanic duo; but I was still pissed. I was just a couple of months short of twenty at the time, an age when I should have been out drinking till the early hours of the morning and then spending my days-off hung-over in bed trying to recover before work, not babysitting two boys old enough to take care of themselves.

You can imagine my anger didn't last long. For a start it's hard to stay mad at Sora and Roxas even when they've been little shits, impossible to stay mad at them when they haven't actually done anything wrong. They're my _brothers_; I snuck them their first drink of alcohol, I took them to their first club, I encouraged their crushes and gave them as much advice as I could about making out and sex and love whilst trying to make the conversation as un-embarrassing as possible. I can never be mad at those two for long.

And besides, at the first sign of trouble they turn the Double-Blues on you and suddenly I'm looking at two little kids with the biggest saddest eyes I've ever seen. Being mean to them would be like kicking a puppy – a _sad_ puppy. So I didn't complain to my parents, I buckled up and took care of my siblings.

Demyx and Namine were unexpected, but still, memories and all that. Plus I don't need to keep much of an eye on them. Demyx is only a year younger than me and has a knack for getting himself out of trouble, and whilst Namine is _supposedly _only six months older than Sora and Roxas I think she is secretly thirty. But still, what kind of role-model would I be if I didn't look out for them?

One that stayed out all night and in bed all day with a hang-over, that's what kind.

The thing is, the duo is turning eighteen pretty soon and I'm in a state of uncertainty. They're almost legally old enough to look after themselves now, but it's hard to turn off the Responsible Big Brother switch: especially since while Demyx got the Avoid-Trouble gene Sora and especially Roxas seemed to get the Find-Trouble gene, which is why I'm getting nervous about Rox' recent string of victims.

"You're thinking about Roxas and Sora?"

I feel a little rude now. I've been sat on this bench staring at the fountain in the courtyard by the stairs for about twenty minutes. Seven minutes ago someone sat on the other end of my bench and only _now_ did I realise it was Leon.

I think he got all that from the apologetic wince I shot him because he shook his head to forget it. "You always pull that face when you're worrying about them."

"What face?"

Leon shrugged.

I grunted at his unsurprising lack of response and turned back to the fountain. I've known Leon in passing for years, since we were kids really. His family owns a chain of coffee shops from here to Midgar, he's the one that hired Roxas and helped Sora get his job in Ancients. We were never really friends until a couple of years ago and we only started to _really_ spend time together since Zack Fair – my neighbour since childhood – moved to Hollow Bastion to be closer to the college campus and his fiancé. In fact I'm pretty sure we had some childhood rivalry over a swing set in the park, or something ridiculous like that.

It's an odd relationship that we have. Neither of us is hugely talkative, that was always Zack's role and neither of us really spoke to each _other_ despite all the time we spent together. That's the problem, when a group of three cuts down to two; you usually realise that it was the other person who kept things together. Now we spend most of our time sitting around in silence or watching movies. I love it, to be honest. I love that I can spend an entire day with Leon and say no more than three sentences. That's not to say we never speak, we do, it's just that we don't always need to. Body language speaks for itself I guess.

Leon didn't say anything else after his comment about my facial expression and I wasn't in the mood to talk anyway. There's a small flower bed around the fountain in the courtyard and the flowers are all in bloom, the smell makes the air of the courtyard heady and the bees get drunk on nectar and buzz erratically around the bright petals, combined with the gentle trickle of water in the fountain and the sun warming my face and on days like this I'm usually left feeling kind of sleepy. I swung around so that my legs were dangling off the end of the bench and laid down with my head on Leon's thigh and then I closed my eyes and let myself doze, pretending I didn't feel Leon's eyes settled intently on my face.

I don't think he minds the physical contact so much anymore. I've been used to Roxas and Sora – and even Demyx and Namine – for so long that when I'm sleepy I have a habit of curling up with the nearest warm body, it's something left over from the way we'd puppy-pile up at family gatherings or just on the sofa watching TV when we were young and tired. Leon doesn't have any siblings so he was pretty visibly confused and tense the first time him me and Zack were watching a film and I dropped onto the sofa beside him and leant into his side to doze.

"Are you coming out tonight?" Leon asked after a few more minutes of silence. I opened my eyes a little so I could see his face while I spoke to him – good manners and all that – but he shifted his gaze away to the fountain.

"I was out last night."

"You went out on a Thursday night?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"Isn't that a pretty obscure night to be out socialising?"

"No. Tuesday's are obscure," I smiled thinking about my last foray into Traverse Town with Demyx and Sora, "Thursday's are preparatory."

"Preparatory?"

"Preparation for Friday and Saturday." I replied with a soft grin. "Get your dancing muscles nice and limber."

Leon fidgeted uncomfortably at this, because when Leon says 'go out' he maybe means to the cinema or for fast food or to do exactly what we're doing now only much later at night and possibly with a select few others. And when _I_ say go out I usually mean into Traverse Town to the clubs. But Leon doesn't like clubs. I'm also pretty sure he doesn't like the word 'limber'.

"I was thinking we could call Yuffie and Tifa." Leon shrugged. "Go to a restaurant, or stay in and watch movies. Or both."

I thought about that for a minute, because I guess it had been a while since we just sat around at Leon's apartment and did nothing. "We could ask Aerith and Zack too. They're spending the weekend here anyway; turning up tonight instead of tomorrow morning won't alter their schedules too drastically. "

"Sure." Leon said but I felt the muscles in his leg tighten – something that's quite difficult not to notice when you're head is resting on the currently tensing thigh.

"Problem?"

"No." But I didn't really believe that because he was staring at the fountain with a darkened expression.

"Or you could come to Traverse Town with me?" I offered, thinking he was turning against the idea of being social. Then again a club wouldn't help that would it?

"Were you planning to go?" He asked looking down at me for the first time, his head tilted slightly.

I shrugged "I told Sora we'd go to Pink, but I'm sure Riku would be more than happy to go with him instead."

I'm pretty sure Leon almost chuckled when he said "I'll bet."

Having fulfilled our conversation quota for the moment I closed my eyes again in the hopes of quick bit of sleep.

"…You go to a club called Pink?"

I nodded.

This time he did chuckle. "That's so gay."

**

* * *

Demyx Strife

* * *

**

Axel and Zexion were leaning outside the Blue Sitar smoking when I turned up, admittedly groggy and probably very dishevelled. I can only hope that Zexion likes the groggy and dishevelled look, but I can't be sure since his first words were; "Christ, you look groggy and dishevelled." And that is a very hard comment to read into.

"Yeah." I relented. "But it _is_ my day off." I said as a disclaimer to my appearance.

"Which brings me to my question; what are we doing here?" Axel asked on a yawn. "I was in bed when Larxene rang."

I grinned a little – because isn't Axel always in bed? Well, you probably don't know. But I'd hazard a guess at yes. And yet I bet he seems to get very little sleep.

"We are gathered on this momentous occasion to witness the upcoming catastrophe in the love life of one of our nearest and dearest." Zexion smirked, dropping his cigarette to the floor and crushing it with his converse clad foot.

"Please tell me it's Marluxia." Axel asked, wanting no further explanation on the situation.

"It is." I admitted cheerfully. "Speaking of, where is he?"

"He's already inside." Zexion said nodding his head towards The Usual Spot.

"What?" I asked and my head snapped around so fast I nearly fell over.

Axel blew out his last lungful of smoke before also dropping his cigarette butt to the ground and drawling. "He's got his coffee and has spent the last five minutes staring aimlessly at the menus on the wall with Larxene – who is no doubt whispering love-filled pleasantries in his ear. Is this part of a plan I haven't been filled on?"

"Zexion will tell you." Was all I said because I was already crossing the road at speed in a desperate attempt to defend Roxas' honour and protect his chastity.

And let's pretend for a minute that I didn't watch him shove some poor guy out the door at five o'clock this morning whilst I was on an early hour's snack-hunt. Because let's be honest, Roxy doesn't have much chastity to defend these days. But we won't tell Marluxia that. Or anyone. Because I am a good cousin.

I pushed open the glass doors and slid onto a stool at the counter, pretending I hadn't just rocketed across the road. Roxas turned his head to me with a vaguely amused smirk and pushed a cup towards me. It was filled with hot chocolate and marshmallows. Extra marshmallows. I love Roxas.

"I saw you across the street." He said for by way of explanation. "Figured you'd be coming in."

"Cheers Roxy." I beamed. Partly because I love The Usual Spot's hot chocolate more when it's free but also because I noticed the way he was pointedly ignoring Marluxia and Larxene, who was muttering jibes and sarcastic comments to the pink haired fiend. Not that I'm holding any grudges about his hopes to nail my cousin. Noooo, no, no, none at all.

Bastard.

The door pushed open behind me and I glanced over my shoulder to see Zexion and Axel stroll in at a much more leisurely pace than I'd used, both smirking knowingly. Axel paused in the doorway, his smirk dropping and his eyes widening slightly and his expression twisting into something that looked vaguely reminiscent of a puppy that's just seen a treat dangling unguarded between someone's fingers. A second later it was back to normal though. I can't really blame him; I have the same reaction whenever I know there's this much hot chocolate in one room too.

Zexion sat gracefully down on the stool next to me and the next thing that happened was possibly one of the most incredible events to ever occur.

"Roxas, right?" Zexion asked, leaning on the countertop.

"Yeah, you Zexion?" Roxas responded without even a hint of sarcasm. And I mean not even a little bit.

"Yeah." Zexion responded holding out his hand - actually holding it out. And you know what? Roxas _shook_ it. They _shook_ _hands_. "Cappuccino please."

"Sure. On the house." Roxas responded shooting me a sideways grin before turning to the coffee machine.

I turned to Zexion and I'm pretty sure my jaw was hanging open a little bit. "What?" he asked.

"How did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Did you just tame Roxas?"

He responded with a quirked eyebrow and the ghost of a smile hovering on his lips. I pretty much got it then. There is a secret camaraderie among those who can communicate without words. Cloud and Roxas sometimes sit on the couch staring at nothing and saying nothing but I'm always pretty sure they're communicating telepathically because they'll both start grinning at _nothing_ or one of them will get the other a drink without them having exchanged any requests. I bet Zexion could join in.

Roxas put the cappuccino in front of Zexion and glanced over my shoulder, I looked over as well. Hm. Axel was still stood in the doorway.

"You ok?" Zexion asked Axel, following my gaze.

"Yeah." Axel said, snapping out of his daze and striding towards the stool on the other side of me. "I'm fine."

Roxas raised his eyebrows at me, and I raised mine back – because nobody understands Axel sometimes.

"You a black coffee?" Roxas asked casually – pretending like Axel hadn't been staring vacantly at him for the last five minutes.

"What?"

"Black Coffee?"

"Oh, yeah. Whatever you want."

"…Right." Roxas said with a confused frown, turning to the coffee machine.

Larxene hopped onto my lap, which is harder than it would seem when you're sat on a stool, and Marluxia sidled over to us with his steaming cup, a small smirk flitting across his lips. He shot us a look we all recognised. It's his 'let the games begin' smirk as Zexion calls it, or the 'Fucker Face' as Axel refers to it. I think Evil Grin of Doom pretty much covers it, because it's the face he pulls right before he charms some poor innocent thing into making out with him in the corner of a bar. Honestly, I couldn't tell you how he always manages it, he just does.

"How are the cherries?"

For a starting point in a conversation I'd say that's pretty random. Is it even cherry season? Do cherries have a season? Nevertheless I noticed the imperceptible-except-to-the-eyes-of-a-Strife smile that tugged at the corner of Roxas' lips for all of a nanosecond. And, _God_, how I hope that was a trick of the light.

"Sufficiently sexed." Roxas responded, and that was definitely humour in his tone and I am only thankful he didn't use more than two words because that is a sign of affection in Roxas Land. Although I'd have preferred if none of the words were sex related.

I almost didn't notice the way Axel hit his leg against the counter when Roxas said sex, but obviously if I _hadn't_ noticed I wouldn't have mentioned almost noticing it so really when I say I 'almost didn't' notice what I mean is that I, uhm, did notice.

Either way I'm storing that factoid away. Axel jumping at the word sex could make for awesome blackmailing opportunities if I find out _why_.

"Really?" Marluxia continued in a tone that reminded me why we were here and also made me want to gag. "And what might you be focusing your attention on now?" He asked, setting his cup down and leaning over the counter. I considered kicking him in the back of the knee but Zexion was in my way. Damn him.

"Coffee." Roxas replied dully, looking at Axel curiously, rather than at Marluxia.

"Speaking of," Marluxia smiled, "Maybe you and I should go for coffee sometime. Somewhere where it isn't _you_ working the machine; although maybe we could find another machine for you to work."

And then he winked.

Actually, genuinely _winked_.

And sweet merciful moogle was that ever the _wrong_ approach to use on Roxas. And just when I was briefly concerned for Marluxia's welfare I remembered that he had been here to _try and screw my cousin_. And then – like the sun returning from behind a cloud – my good mood was back.

Roxas – charming, and delightful boy that he is – leant on the counter from his side, right in front of Marluxia so that even with the height difference their faces – and more importantly mouths – were only centimetres apart. A tiny pleased smirk twitched at Roxas lips, and I recognised that smirk and never before in my life have I felt such joy.

Except maybe that time Zexion's shirt fell off, but that's a different story.

Marluxia clearly misread the smile because he leant ever so slightly further forward, Larxene's jaw had dropped the tiniest amount and Axel looked like he might fall off his chair. But Zexion understood if the smug grin quirking his lips meant anything.

Sure enough two seconds later Roxas had gently pushed Marluxia's cup to the side of the counter and watched it slip over the edge and empty its steaming contents onto Marluxia's lap. For his part, Marluxia then gave some sort of yelping-yell as he jumped up and started hitting himself in the crotch. Which is an odd sentence but one you'll understand if you've ever had hot coffee all down your jeans. Which I have; also courtesy of Roxas.

"I'm not interested." Roxas said deadpan, smile gone. "_So_ uninterested it's almost unbelievable just how uninterested I am." Then he turned to me, "I'll be in the back, shout me if you need anything."

I smiled happily as I watched the back of his happy little head walk happily away to the back room – which I am assuming is full of happiness and kittens and jellybeans. And then I turned to Marluxia who stood looking baffled and shocked and also wet and hot around the crotch but not in the good way.

"Did I forget to mention that Roxas has a violent disposition and is prone to unnecessary acts of aggression?" I beamed. Larxene was keeled over on my lap leaning against the counter laughing herself silly at Marluxia's expression, Axel was smirking in the direction Roxas had left, but Zexion turned to me and played along.

"Come to think of it, Dem, I don't think it came up."

"How very forgetful of me."

"We'll remember for next time."

"Indeed we shall, dear Zexion, indeed we shall."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:**Still not mine, shockingly enough.

* * *

**Axel Raunch-Valentine**

* * *

I have this friend, only she's not exactly a friend. In fact most of the time I feel very little towards her, but that's not the point. Anyway, she believes in karma, she told me why once but I wasn't listening. I didn't listen to most of that conversation actually. To be honest I spend very little time in her company _listening_ to her.

I'm pretty sure _that_ is exactly the reason why karma has decided to kick me in the ass now. The irony being that I'd probably know how to avoid this if I'd listened to aforementioned friend.

_You know_, Karma said to itself one morning, – _this_ morning in fact – _young Axel Raunch-Valentine has spent far too much time being jolly and merry and other synonyms for 'happy' recently. It's probably about time I punished him for something, anything really_.

And if _you_ were karma and it was up to _you_ to punish me when the only thing I've been doing _really_ wrong in the past few weeks was using an innocent girl for her body rather than for any actual attraction to her, how would _you_ punish me?

Because I'd have made me fall in love with a guy.

And oh, karma thought that was a good plan too.

I suppose it'd be a much better kind of justice if I hadn't been bisexual to start with – or maybe I should just be thankful that the first unfamiliar entity I crossed paths with this morning wasn't a passing sheep or a squirrel, because maybe karma just isn't fussy.

I guess it's almost fortunate that the new object of my desires - and star of as many kinky fantasies as I could work into four hours of staring at a wall - is the delicious little blonde thing that spends his days pulling coffee and his nights…well, I don't know what he does all night, but I have four hours worth of brain activity displaying quite graphically what I'd like him to _start_ doing.

I found it kind of amazing that nobody noticed the way I'd been struck dumb at the sight of the kid. I don't know whether to be grateful or offended that they were taking such little notice of me even when there was a huge beacon of guilt above my head and a bigger one of lust in my pants. Metaphorical, of course otherwise I'm pretty sure both Demyx and the object of my newfound affections – and probably Marluxia too – would have killed me on the spot.

You'd think that since I got away with it and considering the fact that this was Demyx' _cousin_ – not to mention that I'd witnessed what happens when you try and climb straight into the boy's pants – maybe, just _maybe_ I'd have the sense to stay away and hope that my little crush went away in the face of other, more naked, young men and women. Sadly you are mistaken.

But since I am apparently a closet masochist; it was four and a half hours after our first encounter and after four hours of painfully, _painfully_ graphic fantasies involving sweat and ripped clothes and murmuring and a hell of a lot of tongue and the boy named Roxas that I found myself stood in the doorway of The Usual Spot once again. He was wearing a pair of scruffy jeans that were slightly too big for him and had several splotched stains that could have been anything from ink to coffee to paint and a white t-shirt with The Usual Spots logo on it and had a pen tucked behind his ear. I'd timed it right; missed the morning rush but beat the people finishing up work or their afternoon shopping. Other than an old guy sat on a corner table reading a book, me and Roxas were the only people there.

He'd been cleaning the coffee machine, the radio was turned up full volume and he was singing along just beneath the sound level of the music so I had to strain to pick out his voice. I didn't know the words but I was enjoying it all the same. I sidled up to the counter and slid onto a stool – not sure why I was bothering to swagger with his back to me and all but I was working my best anyway.

"Hey." I ventured after a couple of minutes.

His shoulders stiffened almost instantly and he turned around with a look of hesitation, "Hey." He responded and I smirked a little at the recognition in his eyes. "Alex, right?"

Ok, maybe the smirk slipped a little, "Axel."

"Yeah." He agreed and I think I saw the glimmer of a smile. "Can I get you something?"

It took pretty much all my self-restraint not to jump across the counter and stick my tongue in his mouth because most of the sexual scenarios I'd been through had started with that innocent offer. In the end I managed to sputter out "Black coffee" but not before one of his eyebrows had quirked up in amusement; because twice today when he'd asked what I wanted to drink I'd probably looked like I was about to wet my pants.

"Roxas, right?" I asked as he moved to the second counter, the one pressed against the wall with all the mugs and cups and various bits of machinery on it. He fiddled with it, changing filters and adding beans or whatever and then set the machine working and – to my surprise – turned to face me, leaning on the surface at his back. Too far away for my liking but at least he was facing me.

"Yeah." He clarified after a couple of thoughtful seconds. "You were here this morning with Demyx."

I was probably more smug than necessary about the fact that not only did he recognise me but he could place me in the actual situation in which we'd met. Anyone who has ever tried to remember a face and a name on short notice will know these are two very different things; 'you're that girl from my bed that one time' doesn't often cut it like 'sure, you're Amanda from the bed!' would.

"Yes, I bore witness to the Fantastic Coffee Moment as it's been unofficially dubbed." And I was probably smiling like an idiot but to be honest the memory of Marluxia getting his crotch scalded would make me smile for days – if not weeks - to come. I played dumb as I smiled pleasantly "What was that about anyway?"

"Nothing really." He responded with a brief narrowing of the eyes. Yeah. He knew I knew.

"Homophobic?"

He scoffed and I managed to avoid cheering. "Definitely not the issue."

I leant a little forward and couldn't help the purr that entered my tone when I asked "Just not used to sexual advances?"

For a second his cheeks flushed vaguely pink but there was an amused grin twitching at his lips that told me this was certainly not the case. I've never wanted to jump someone more in my life. He turned to the coffee machine and I knew I was in trouble when my brain started trying to figure out if I could get over the counter and pin him where he was before he turned around.

He returned to the front desk and placed my coffee before me, I watched his hands warily to make sure it stayed _in front_ of me and didn't end up _on_ me. Then he dropped the scrap of paper serving as my bill down beside it and wandered off to organize the magazine rack. I watched him from my seat for all of three seconds before abandoning both the stool and my coffee in favour of pursuit.

"Are you gay?" I asked, standing just behind him. No point beating around the bush.

I thought he'd choke for a minute as a strangled sound slipped from his throat and he shot a deadpan expression over his shoulder at me despite his pink cheeks.

"That's a yes."

"It's a 'fuck off'." He turned back to the magazine rack and my eyes strayed down to the back of his jeans.

"Almost the same thing."

"Only when you aren't listening."

"I am listening. You have my full attention."

"Sure, my ass does."

And now my gaze had snapped back up and he turned to face me again, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Are you on some sort of stalker mission?"

I frowned and offered a "What?"

"Did the creepy pink haired guy send you in?" He asked with a bored tone.

"Why would he do that?"

"Because most people don't like having hot coffee dumped in their lap."

"This is true, but why would _I_ help _him_?" At this he paused and regarded me sceptically.

"Because he's your friend?"

I shrugged, "Sometimes he is. When he isn't being an ass and when we aren't after the same thing."

His expression changed then, softened ever so slightly, turned curious around the eyes, a tug at the corner of his lips into the mirage of a far off smile. "And what might that be?"

And shit. He had me there. Because openly telling him I was after a first class ticket into his jeans was likely to get me a hot crotch – Marluxia style– but it was probably too late to back track. And so I stood there with my mouth opening and closing like the proverbial fish out of water and several sentences on the tip of my tongue that refused to spill past my lips while Roxas just stood and stared at me like he might piss his pants laughing any minute.

"Are you having an aneurism?" he asked smugly and that was pretty much it, because I'd been stood looking pink for too long now and that is _not_ a good look on a redhead.

It was time for Confusion Tactics. I took a step closer, just one, but on long legs one step is all you need to be in someone's personal bubble. His smirk dropped at the sudden proximity and my own smirk grew. It was practically a smirk battle…I've been spending far too much time with Demyx.

"Coffee."

He was so busy shuffling back, away from me as quickly as I came towards him, that he almost didn't register what I said and when he did he frowned, "What?"

"Coffee." I reiterated. "You wanted to know what we were both after, I am responding 'coffee'" I took another half step.

"You...let me scald your friend because you both wanted coffee?"

"Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"Yes, maybe."

"Yes or maybe?"

"Neither." Another step forwards, he shuffled a little further back.

"But you just said coffee."

"Did I?"

"Yeah."

"Perhaps it was coffee then." Another step.

And now I could see he was confused and distracted by my forward motion and he was backing up a little and soon he'd hit the magazine rack. So now I had him where I wanted him.

"You look pink."

"What?"

"You look pink." I smiled.

"Pink?" He wasn't comprehending and I was pretty impressed with myself and my magical ability to dazzle.

"You're blushing." Another step forward, only a tiny one because he was running out of room. "Why would you be blushing?"

"You're in my personal bubble." He snapped, trying to get back to when he had the upper hand in the conversation – and failing miserably I might add.

"That's why you're blushing?"

"No."

"I'm not in your personal space?"

"You are."

"And you're blushing because I'm so close?"

"Yes." He snapped and then thought for two hundredths of a second before correcting harshly, "No."

"Really?" And at that he took a bigger step back…and realised he'd run out of room. One of my favourite expression in the world is the wide eyed 'well fuck me…when did that wall get there?' face. Trust me it looks particularly good on my new little crush. "You sound frustrated."

"Tends to happen when a hot guy _pins_ you to a fucking _wall_!" He snapped back and for point three second neither of us said anything. And then I smirked like the Cheshire cat and lent forward ever so slightly at the waist so that only our faces were closer, because I didn't fancy being kneed in the groin and it looked like we could be heading that way.

"You think I'm hot?"

"Only in the sense that your hair makes it look like you're on fire." He shot back and I had to hand it to him, he was pretty sharp. I laughed briefly and smiled even though it was an insult, I was quite surprised at the look of near humour in his eyes.

I reached out my hand, his blue eyes watching steadily but he made no attempt to bat my hand away – or punch me in the face – so I confidently plucked the pen from behind his ear while my other hand wrapped around his wrist and pulled it towards me. He blinked in confusion and before he had a chance to pull away I'd scrawled my phone number across the back of his hand and popped his pen back behind his ear, letting my fingers brush against his hair as I did so. His eyes didn't leave my face.

"I'll see you around Roxas." I said with my most dazzling smile and then I turned around and strolled off, but not before hearing the old man in the corner chuckle and Roxas' response of "Drink your coffee or get out, jackass."

* * *

**Sora Strife**

* * *

I hummed my approval when teeth nipped at my bottom lip and tried to suppress a shiver when cool hands slid under the hem of my shirt and trailed up my spine. My shoulders were pushed more firmly against the bookshelves behind me and the warm body in front of me pressed flush against me.

I groaned unhappily when Riku's mouth moved away, but I quickly switched to a contented sigh when his lips found my neck and started to nip and kiss their way from below my right ear to the hollow of my throat and then back up under my left ear. I like to think of that as Riku's signature move. It's like a big V of sexy throat snogging…or something.

For all of three seconds I contemplated detaching myself from him – because Luxord had said he would only be gone for ten minutes and I'm pretty sure Riku had gotten here two minutes after that and we'd been making out for about five; that left what? Three minutes? Three short minutes to get back to work or three _whole_ minute more of kissing even though we were stood right in front of the window and people out shopping generally got offended by displays of Bookshop Sexual Activity.

Of course thinking about any of this came to nothing since in the end all I did was giggle and run my hands through Riku's hair and bring his head back up so that his mouth met mine again. Breathing in sharply when one of his hands started to toy with the waistband of my jeans, one thumb dipping below the fabric and running along the point of my hip.

And then with a low groan he leant away from me, dropped one last kiss on my lips, brief and chaste, and moved away until he was leaning against the desk of the small store, while I was left against the bookcase in full view of the window and suddenly very cold without the Riku I'd been wearing.

"We don't want Luxord to catch you making out against the shelves again do we?" He grinned. I still don't know how he can go from snogging me senseless to leaning casually without any apparent sexual frustration. Bastard. Stupid Riku and his stupid self-control and his stupid makeup and his-

"Riku…are you wearing makeup?"

He paused, smirk freezing and eyes changing from smug to trapped, "Shit." he muttered, wiping his mouth on the back of his wrist and then pulling a tissue from his pocket and rubbing at his eye lids.

Well I just about peed my pants laughing. I doubled over sputtering ignoring Riku's grumble of "Sure, sure. Laugh it up."

"Wh –why are you wearing _makeup_?" I gasped when I finally managed to catch my breath.

By now there was a hint of amusement lighting Riku's eye as he hopped up so he was sitting on the desk, beside the computer and he reached back to tie his silver hair into a messy bunch at the back of his neck. "Yazoo wanted a model. He got a new camera yesterday."

"Oh yeah, I forgot," I said with a grin as I picked up the pile of books I'd discarded the second Riku walked in – because alphabetising is not as fun as making out. "Your brother is a photographer now."

The Argent boys have a different desire for the future every other week. I suppose it's what comes of having unlimited resources and being one of four brothers when only one is necessary to carry on the management of the well established Argent Inc. headed by Riku's dad – the delightfully terrifying Sephiroth. Argent Inc. is the power source behind a ridiculous amount of smaller companies, from the worldwide Jenova Beauty Products to All That Glistens, the antique jewellery store on Main Street. I'm pretty sure Sephiroth is aiming for world domination through the power of owning thousands of totally different stores throughout the globe.

His sons get the easy side of it; they just play with the money.

Riku's lips quirked at my tone and he gave a faint nod; Yazoo changes profession almost daily. "Yep, Yazoo is a photographer this week, Kadaj has decided to launch his own brand of shampoo and Loz wants to buy a motorbike."

"Really? I'd have though the shampoo would be Yazoo too." I grinned, because Yazoo is the most feminine boy I've ever met. His hair is girlier than Riku's, and Riku's hair is pretty girly – although girly in a complete Sex God kind of a way. A Sex God with girly hair. I'm sure there was a point to this once upon a time. Shampoo. Right.

"Give it a few days and Yazoo will be in on it. Or at least photographing shampoo bottles or something." Riku was thoughtful for a minute. "I should probably suggest that to him."

"Definitely. I've always marvelled at the lack of shampoo photographers in the world."

"Yes, it's a dying art these days."

"It really is."

"And such a shame."

"He could start an entirely new market for it. Shampoo bottles asleep among flower petals, shampoo bottles dressed as teddy bears. Hairdressers all over the world would go crazy for his stuff."

"We could set up a gallery and sell exclusive Shampoo Art." Riku grinned.

"Yes, make enough money to franchise."

"Set up branches all over the world."

"Have we invested too much thought into this?"

"Yes. I think we need to stop now."

"Agreed."

I spent a few moments pretending to be interested in putting books away in the correct order whilst Riku flipped through whatever I'd left on the counter. "Cloud isn't taking me to Traverse anymore." Take the bait. Taaaake it.

"No?" He asked without particular enthusiasm, but I heard the page turning pause. Ha.

"He's gonna hang out with Leon and Zack and Aerith." I responded without particular emphasis on any of it, As though I didn't really care. Which I don't to be honest – as bad a brother as that might make me – because I am working on my own evil plots, taking a page out of Roxas book of sexual deviancy.

"You want to ride with me?"

"You don't mind?"

"Course not." I grinned with my back to him.

"He'll probably be out all night."

"Will he?" Riku was sounding suspicious now. Possibly due to the happy-verging-on-smug tone that had slipped into my voice. Woops.

"And Roxas could make himself scarce…"

Riku was behind me now, hands on my hips and lips beside my ear. "Oh could he?"

"So if you wanted to come over…"

"Sora, I'm not having sex with you."

My smile immediately dropped and I knew I was pouting when I turned around but God damnit Riku is annoying as hell! "Why?"

"Because when we were younger you always said you'd rather not jump into bed as soon as you started dating someone," he said on a sigh as he placed a soft kiss on the corner of my mouth. But I would not be bought off by shows of affection – oh no! Because today I am determined and determined I am!

"It doesn't count if I'm dating _you_! And this isn't exactly 'soon' we've been sneaking around for almost a year! And we've been best friends since _forever_." I argued with a pout as his hands skimmed the hem of my t-shirt again.

"But you haven't told your siblings about us." He responded. 'Siblings' always includes Namine and Demyx.

"Roxas knows." I shot back weakly.

"That's only because he has scary psychic powers when anyone comes within three feet of you with sexual intentions."

"Cloud probably knows."

"Cloud knows everything," Riku responded, dropping a few more kisses along my jaw line. "You didn't _tell_ them, which means you aren't ready for people to know. And if you aren't ready for people to know then you aren't ready to have sex."

I pouted "But Ri-kuuuu." Because the sad face _always_ gets him.

He ignored me, pressing his lips to mine once again and I pouted more because doesn't this conversation always end like this?

And then the bell over the door jingled and in sauntered Luxord with a cup of coffee from next door and what looked suspiciously like a hot chocolate for me and also a bag that _could_ be pastries. He looked at us, rolled his eyes, cleared his throat which caused Riku to jump a foot backwards and with a soft smile asked in his delightful accent "At least one of you should be sorting shelves."

**

I was sprawled on my bed by eight that evening, a book on my pillow that I was pretending to read for English Lit. Secretly I was watching Riku read – he'd pulled the spin chair from my computer desk over to my side of the room and had his ankles propped on my bed. He looks nice when he reads. Like a god. Reading. A sex god. A sex god that's reading. You know what sex gods should do? Have sex.

You know what we aren't doing?

I think you do.

I was about to suggest a 'break' from our 'reading' – by which I mean I was about to grab his ankle and drag him and, if necessary, the chair onto the bed to finish what we started in Ancients, but that was pretty much the moment when Roxas appeared.

_Leave_, I told him through the psychic powers I don't have. _I was about to trick him into sexing me up_.

He paused at my expression and leant against the doorframe contemplatively and sent me a look that clearly meant; _As if that'd work and I'd rather not know about your best friend sexing you up anyway._

_I hate you._

_You totally love me._

"Out loud, children," Riku said without looking up from his book. I sighed and rolled over; Roxas sauntered in and flopped next to me onto the bed, taking up the spot I had been _clearly_ reserving for Riku when I finally got him out of the stupid wheely chair. Stupid Roxas interrupting my genius plans.

"How's it going, Riku?" Roxas asked. He gets on scarily well with Riku considering his immediate response to any girl who has ever liked me was always a hard stare and a soft grunt before leaving the room. The girl would usually stare after him wide eyed and worried and not come around again. Sometimes I wonder if Roxas forced me to be gay with his scary powers. I told Cloud this theory once – Cloud nearly choked to death on his own laughter.

"Good thanks. What's on your hand?" And this caught my attention because I'm pretty sure Riku still hadn't looked up from his book. How would he know what was on Roxas' hand? Why didn't _I_ know what was on Roxas' hand? Maybe I should look.

"Some…person kinda…gave me their number." He responded, rubbing his eyes tiredly; a typical Roxas technique to avoid eye contact.

"What do you think Riku?" I grinned.

"Well, he said 'person' which means 'guy'" Riku said, still not looking up and only vocally taking part in the torment of my twin.

"And he said it reluctantly which means there's probably an interesting story behind it." I concurred.

Roxas flipped me off and then I noticed something that would change the world forever. Or maybe it wasn't that important but still. "Rox are you blushing?"

And now Riku snapped his book shut and looked up at Roxas. "Oh God, he is."

"Who was it?" I asked, suddenly interested, I rolled onto my side to face him as he rolled onto his stomach and buried his head into the pillow. Riku got off the chair and climbed over me so he was sat between Roxas' hip and my thigh. Good job I had a slightly-bigger-than-single bed.

"Some guy." Roxas huffed back. I waited, patiently.

"…yeah that was helpful Rox."

"He was just some guy. He's a friend of Demyx or something." He shrugged non-committal and I exchanged a look with Riku that clearly expressed a need to flip Roxas over by his bleach blonde hair and demand answers.

"_Which_ friend of Demyx'?" Riku asked, and he's better at this than me because he's still attempting to sound vaguely curious whilst I'm beginning to sound extremely interested.

"He has more than one friend, you know. Probably," I put in, an attempt at being helpful.

"Some redheaded guy." Roxas sighed.

"Some redheaded guy that wants you to call him?" I asked wiggling my eyebrows.

Roxas glared at me. "Yes."

"Are you going to?" Riku asked, sounding ever so slightly more interested.

"Why would I?"

"Because you want to?"

"Do I now?" Roxas asked, using his sarcastic tone. The one he uses when he's trying to make you think the opposite of what you're thinking. I think. Or do I? Haha…yeah.

"Yes." I said evenly, defying him to contradict. He did not. I am the Reigning Twin.

"He was just some guy, there are plenty of other guys, why would I call this one?"

"Because you let him give you his number."

"I didn't _let_ him do anything." Roxas clarified – using his irritated face, "He turned up, pinned me to a wall and wrote his number on my hand before I could escape. No _letting_ involved."

"You're blushing again." I smirked. I'm smirking a lot today which is a shame because I don't smirk well. Roxas' smirk's well because he's evil, and Riku smirks well because he's sexy.

Roxas opened his mouth to respond to this but nothing came out, you know why? Because it's hard to argue visible fact. And then his cheeks flushed even _pinker_ and it was like Christmas! Because, in case you haven't gathered the magnitude of this situation, Roxas Does Not Blush.

"Wow." Riku said after a few silent, blush-filled moments "Must have been one hell of a…wall-pinning."

"A wall-pinning?" I asked.

"Yes. A wall-pinning, verb: an occasion in which one is pinned to a wall."

"Is it still a wall pinning if it's a bookshelf? And does it have to be a vertical surface? If it's not a wall is it just a regular pinning?" I asked with a quirked eyebrow, "These are the things you have to think about before you make up words, Riku."

"And you are the dictionary dictator are you?" Riku asked with a smirk as he pinched one hip.

"Yes." I grinned.

"Lord and King of all newly found words?" He asked, now moving his hand to rest on the bed by my shoulder so he was leaning over me whilst I continued to sprawl.

"Correct, yes."

"And we all have to do things as you say my liege?" He asked leaning even closer.

"This is the weirdest flirting I have ever seen in my life." Roxas muttered. I smirked.

"You could always go call your boyfriend."

He hit me over the head with a pillow. Riku sat back up laughing and removed the pillow before I could hit Rox back. I pouted but to no avail, Riku seems to be immune to my powers today.

"Are these your plans for the evening?" Roxas asked rolling onto his back and crossing his arms behind his head. I copied the pose. "Sit around doing your reading?"

"Ha!" I scoffed, "As if any Strife spends their Friday nights sat around indoors."

"Namine does."

"Namine is a _girl_."

"Yet still a Strife."

"Fine. Ha! As if any _male_ Strife spends their Friday nights sat around indoors."

"We're going to Traverse." Riku told him.

"He already knew that." I told Riku.

"Do you want to come?" Riku said.

"He's already coming." I said to Riku.

Riku shot me a look, a patient '_I know dear, but sometimes it's best to ask people if they'd _like_ to do something rather than just inform them that they _are_ doing it. And even though it might end up interfering with our plans to have wild monkey sex in a public place I do enjoy the companionship of your brother.'_

Well, the first sentence was probably accurate anyway.

"Yeah, I'll come. You driving or are we taking the train?" Roxas asked. "Because Cloud is at Leon's and Dem is going to some open mic night. Which I wasn't supposed to tell you about."

Riku shrugged. Sexily. "I'll drive. If I feel inclined to get drunk we'll get a taxi and I'll pick my car up in the morning."

Roxas turned to me, "The benefits of having a loaded boyfriend eh?" he winked.

"I like to pretend I'm not with him for his money."

"His looks make it easier I suppose."

"Yes. I'm in it for the money and the body. But if he ever asks it's because I like his 'personality' and appreciate his 'sense of humour'." I grinned sneaking a sideways glance at Riku.

"S'alright." He shrugged again and smiled dazzlingly, "I'm only in it because making you sexually frustrated amuses me."

Roxas barked a laugh.

"…I hate you."

* * *

**Axel Raunch-Valentine**

* * *

It wasn't really _stalking_. Not in the traditional sense. Stalking is to pursue by tracking stealthily, at no point did I 'track stealthily' and thus I did not stalk. I simply accidentally stumbled upon some information that might lead me to the location of Roxas and in a completely unrelated act found myself happing upon said location.

It's not stalking if it's accidental. I will maintain that in the police report.

But when Demyx mentioned in passing that his cousins would be in Traverse at Pink I found myself saying.

"Marly, Larx – I have new plans for the evening!"

And, really, after that what chance did I have of stopping myself?


	4. Chapter 4

**Dislaimer: **Nope, still not mine.

**Note: **I live in Europe, so I'm using the European rules mostly, by which I mean the drinking age is 18. Specifically I live in Spain, so I'm using the Spanish rules, by which I mean very few of my fictional barmen will actually care about your age, letting Roxas and Sora get happily inebriated if they so choose. Figured I'd clear that up.

Reviews are loved and adored.

**

* * *

Roxas Strife

* * *

**Pink is so named because – with the exception of the black walls, floor and ceiling – everything in the place is pink, I'm sure that would have been hard for you to figure out by yourself. The rails around the sunken dance floor are pink, the bar is pink, the bar stools are pink, the booths and tables at the edge of the bar and the tiny lamps _on_ said tables are all pink. This effect is of course completely lost since it is a _club_ and thus the entire room is fucking dark anyway with the exception of the (pink) strobe lights that flash sporadically. If it wasn't bad enough that everything is pink, half the stuff is also…fluffy.

Pink is designed to kill masculinity. That's not just a theory, since I'm pretty sure the lighting induces tiny seizures. Although apparently that's just how Sora dances.

Even though Pink is the place testosterone goes to die, they play good music and it is usually pretty packed – both things conducive to a good club atmosphere. Because if there are so many people you can barely breathe, at least no one will notice you should you choose to dance like a retard. Or like Sora.

By one a.m. I'd been dancing for a little over two hours and a thin layer of sweat had spread over my skin as I moved to the collective beat of songs I was paying little to no attention to, ignoring the feel of the nearby bodies pressing against me – some purposefully and others accidentally. By five-past-one I was stood in the restrooms with my t-shirt pulled up a little and my back pressed against the cool blue tiles on the wall, waiting for my hearing to recover and contemplating a trip to the bar for a bottle of water and thinking about stubbing out the cigarette held half-heartedly between my teeth. The men's room at pink is the only thing in the whole place that doesn't take after its namesake, but only because I one day found myself with a lot of blue spray paint, some free-time and a heavily intoxicated Cloud.

And a heavily intoxicated Cloud is pretty much the most willing-to-do-what-you-tell-him creature you'll ever come across.

And so with my eyes closed and my hips swaying slightly with the soft throbbing of music from the other side of the door, I was surprised when a hand flicked me on the sliver of stomach that was exposed. My eyes snapped open and I made out the familiar, bleary Alcohol-Smile of one Tidus Jecht.

I did the only thing you can really do in the face of a drunken Tidus. I pulled my top back down, dropped my cigarette in the sink and sighed.

Tidus is a nice guy, he really is, until he gets a couple of drinks in him – and I am talking a _couple_ – and then he'd happily shag anything within a five-mile radius, and often makes that his goal. I'm guilty of having been on the receiving end of a drunken-Tidus-snog. Then again I don't think I know anyone in my age category in Twilight Town who _hasn't_. Tidus even tried it on with Cloud one time, but _only_ one time. You know how the expression goes, once kicked in the balls, twice shy.

"Hey Roxy."

"Hi Tidus." I responded warily, ran my tongue over my teeth and shuffled a foot into the perfect position to ram my knee into his crotch should the situation demand it. Just in case he's feeling frisky.

"How are you?" He asked. Only it was less of a question and more of a leer.

"Good." I responded evenly but knocked one foot against the toe of his shoe. Maybe only other Strife's recognise this gesture as 'back the fuck up' or maybe Tidus was just too inebriated to notice my expression, because all he did was stare at my shoes for a minute and then look back up just as blearily and still with the Alcohol Smile plastered on his face, blonde hair drooping a little and cheeks overly shiny and red.

He leaned forward, almost tripping over one of his own feet and pressing one hand on the wall by my head. The only thing that stopped me from sucker punching him was the thought that, in the morning when he was embarrassed and apologetic, I'd feel bad for having rammed my fist into his gut. Then again if he got any closer with the leer that was beginning to spread across his face, I might do it anyway.

"So…" His index finger curled into the belt loop on my jeans and both my knee and fist twitched in anticipation. "Would you be interested in-"

"No."

"We could-"

"No." I snapped uncurling his finger and shoving him away from me. He stumbled slightly but was otherwise undeterred. Handling him with a firm hand seems to be the only way to get a drunk Tidus to piss off. That or find Wakka, who then drags him off, locks him in a car and leaves him to sleep it off. Or puke. I don't envy Wakka in role of best friend.

"Aw, c'mon there's-"

"Still no."

With his expression dropping into a confused frown, Tidus regarded me for a moment, noted the tensed stance and the scowl and …didn't give a shit because he was already off his face. The leer was back a second later and just as he was moving too close into my personal space a hand dropped onto his shoulder.

"The lady said 'no'."

My stomach dropped and then flipped and then couldn't decide between the two and settled into a knot somewhere in the middle. My eyes caught up and snapped to the face that went with the hand. I felt the brief bewilderment crinkle into a scowl, deeper than before and I'm pretty sure I was pulling what Sora affectionately refers to as my Angry Face. Crazy red hair, vibrant green eyes and upside down diamond tattoos. It's a pretty unique description and the second my brain registered exactly who it was a flock of butterflies - would 'moths' be more manly? - set off in my stomach and goose bumps rose on my bare arms that had nothing to do with the cold. Hormones are a bitch.

"Go fuck yourself." I snapped at him. Sure, I should probably be nicer seeing as he seemed to be on my side in the battle of Drunk Sex Against a Wall versus Fuck Off, also because a rather large part of my brain was trying to get me to flirt with him, but I do tend to snap before I think, and he _had_ just called me a girl.

Axel's lips quirked into a smirk and he tilted his head slightly as though considering the request, I licked my lips unconsciously. He didn't have time to respond though as Tidus promptly dropped out of his grasp and to the ground, his head in his hands as he murmured "I feel sick."

I sighed. Axel stepped over him and leant against the wall beside me, one of his sleeved arms brushing against mine and the heat of contact made me jerk slightly. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Yeah, imagine that." I replied deadpan, even as the knots in my stomach twisted again, softly tried to remind me not to be a total dick, and were promptly ignored. "You stalking me, Alex?"

His smirk froze momentarily and I managed not to look smug. But then he'd used his shoulders to push himself off the wall and was mimicking the position Tidus had been stood in not so long ago, one hand on the wall beside my head, face a polite distance away but body leaning towards me.

"Axel." He corrected on a breath – as quiet as he could manage whilst still being heard over the pulsing music beyond the walls, his free hand making its way to softly tug on the hair behind my ear, his fingers brushing my scalp in a way that made me close my eyes for a second and shiver, and then he was leaning even _closer_, his lips brushed the shell of my ear when he whispered, "A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?"

"And is there a last name I should 'memorize'?" I asked by way of totally evading the Pinned-You-Again situation I was finding myself in. Or at least I tried to ask, it came out weaker than I'd intended and sounded like it was verging on a whimper. Christ, if I could kick myself in the groin I would.

"Valentine."

And then I made a noise that was probably a laugh when it started but ended as a grunt – because wasn't that just fucking perfect? Axel Valentine. Right. If someone was going to swan into my life one morning and immediately occupy my thoughts for the rest of the day, it was only fitting that he should be called _Valentine_. I relayed this series of thoughts by softly muttering "Of course it is." In a voice thick with amusement and disbelief and still vaguely, accidentally sultry beneath that.

"Why is that funny?" He asked, still in the breathy tone, the one that was probably being used much too soon in our relationship, having only met twice before now.

And then I made a mistake; a very vital mistake. Not exactly a 'Woops, I stood too close to the cliff edge and now I'm plummeting to my death' kind of mistake, but on a hormonal and emotional level maybe it was something to that effect. Only much smaller than literally tumbling off a cliff. All I did was glance up. My eyes settled on his lips for a second, my brain absently noting the height difference between us, meaninglessly storing away the thought that if I chose to kiss him, if that was something it should ever cross my mind to do, I'd probably need to be on my tiptoes.

And then I glanced further up.

His eyes were on mine, a little hungry, a little softer than they had looked in the coffee shop. Equally as vivid and stunning and breathtaking and – I've been reading _far_ too much Mills & Boone. But there you have it. Our eyes locked, my skin was tingling from a current of electricity that _must_ have been coming from his fingertips on the soft patch of skin behind my ear and my heart skipped a beat at the intensity of the green gaze.

And wouldn't you know it, I suddenly found myself on my tiptoes.

But I couldn't tell you whether or not that would have made up enough of the height difference.

Considering the fact that two people had so far slipped into the men's room without me noticing, I think it says something about Sora and Riku that when they came into the room the door flew open and slammed aggressively into the tiles and for a few seconds the air was pounding with music and flashing with the lights from outside before the door swung shut on its hinges. Then again, the second thing to register in my brain was the fact that while Riku's eyes locked onto my gaze, Sora was wrapped around him like a scarf and the sounds of tongue and lips smacking gave me the impression that he wasn't just pressed into Riku's neck for a snuggle. I felt my cheeks begin to flush and I spared a glance at Axel who had followed the direction of Riku's gaze back to me, his eyes now flicking between the two of us and a tiny crease forming in his brow.

"Why'd you stop?" I heard Sora murmur as Riku ushered him forward closer to the three of us already in the room. Then he grabbed Sora by the shoulders and spun him around. It took half a second for his eyes to land on me and Axel then-

"Oh my GOD!"

Tidus head snapped up as though someone had just screamed directly into his ear and his head swivelled laboriously towards my twin. Sora was staring at me with rounded eyes and a slightly open mouth, like he was trying to decide how to continue. Riku had slung himself over Sora's shoulders and was looking amused and smug.

It occurred to me that I was pressed against a wall with someone who technically counts as a total stranger very close to me.

In light of this I shoved Axel back a few steps and tried not to look like a deer caught in the headlights. I failed. Miserably. And now Axel was shooting me a confused glance with a raised eyebrow.

"Is this Pin Man?!" Sora yelled – although whether he was yelling due to the deafening music outside or his surprise to see me I couldn't be sure.

There was a general pause before Riku ventured. "What?"

"Pin Man!" Sora said again, as though it was obvious, and I was using his distraction to shuffle away from Axel, who in turn was staring at Sora with a quirked eye brow and an expression of confused wonder. Sora has that effect on people. "The Pinner! The guy that Pinned him!"

Oh God I want to die. Why do I tell Sora these things? Why do I still assume after seventeen years of this that the boy has any ounce of tact? My cheeks were beginning to feel hot with the force of my blush and I noticed the way Axel stance suddenly became a lot more self confident.

"I think we need to choose one term of reference and stick to it." Riku responded with an amused smile, his expression flicked to me, still on my quest for distance. "Rox." He said in the soft, long warning tone parents use when they've just found a child eating glue. "What were you doing?"

I glared in respond and noticed the annoying lack of cowering. "I'm in a restroom what do you think I was doing?"

Riku's lips twisted upwards into a smirk and Sora's eyes widened. "You were about to have _sex_?"

"What?" I snapped and by now I'm certain that if I blush any more my face will just explode. "No! We're in a bathroom!"

"Of a club!"

"Still a bathroom!"

Axel seemed to have recovered from his temporary silence and asked, "Is that your brother?"

I sighed, "Yes, this is Sora. And that's his limpet. We call him Riku."

"Riku Argent." Riku smiled pleasantly holding out a hand over Sora's shoulder.

"Axel." He shook his hand and I narrowed my eyes momentarily, accusingly, because Riku better not steal my tingles. I sound like a girl. "Valentine."

Sora and I watched this interaction dubiously.

"You know, I remember when you were young and virtuous." Sora suddenly said with a soft nod of his head and a reminiscent tone. I covered my eyes with one hand and pinched the bridge of my nose because, fuck me, I wanted to be somewhere – anywhere – else. "You wouldn't be like this if you'd just stop working in that sex shop."

And now everyone's eyes were on me and it was Axel I glanced at first, a look of 'I have no fucking clue what he's on about' in place as I desperately willed Sora to Just. Stop. Talking. "Sora, I work in a _Coffee_ shop."

"Yes." He agreed solemnly. "But we all know what that's code for."

"It's code for _coffee_!"

"A likely story!" Sora responded, now pouting. "Sometimes you are totally craptastic!"

"What? What have _I_ done?"

"You might claim to be doing nothing but I had evil plans of sexual activity in the restroom of this club, and your presence has ruined them."

Well, at least now I wasn't the only one feeling ridiculously uncomfortable. Axel cleared his throat and stared at a tile on the wall.

Riku gave a bark of laughter and then settled a thoughtful gaze on me, "I told you he had evil psychic powers when it came to your sex life."

There was a communal silence before Sora and I 'ew'ed.

Tidus stared up at us groggily, "Has any one else noticed that everyone in this room is at least a little bit gay?"

That seemed to kill the conversation. I shuffled nervously, not really wanting to look at anyone else in the room but feeling several eyes on me.

"I'd like to leave now. Sora, you inherit Tidus." I said on a groan of deep embarrassment.

"I'd be more than happy to…uh…escort you out." Axel commented with a wary eye on Sora. And strangely enough I couldn't imagine anything better. I gave a small nod as consent.

He got the message, putting a hand between my shoulder blades and steering me towards the door. "Uh, nice to meet you Riku, Sora."

"I've got my eyes on you."

"He's been drinking." Riku winced.

"Six shots doesn't-"

"It does when you're short."

"Roxas is the same height as me!"

"And can handle his alcohol better."

Sora muttered something that sounded vaguely insulting, I guessed I was right since the last thing I heard was Riku asking "Do you want me to leave you on the floor with Tidus?" before the door to the restroom was opened and I was ushered out into the thickening crowd of people.

I didn't stop among the dancing mob and I didn't check to see if Axel was following, I just made my way onto the street and stood watching my breath puff out in the freezing, early morning air. Ah sweet relief, fresh air that isn't accompanied by the insanity of Sora.

"Weirdly enough," A voice said behind me. And yeah, that answered that question; Axel had come outside with me. "I'd still like to follow up with trying to get your number."

I shot him a sideways glance. "After that? You deserve a medal."

He smiled, "Is that some sort of consent?"

"Might be."

"You know what else works well as consent?"

"What?"

"Actually giving me your number."

I smirked and said nothing, heading back into the club. I was in the mood for more dancing.

**

* * *

Cloud Strife

* * *

**

You know what's a weird thing to find yourself doing on a Friday night, less than an hour before you make your way to your friend's house for youthful jubilance? Checking bank statements. It's never a fun thing to do, but just a particularly odd thing to be doing at this particular time.

It's not that I find it a riveting activity, just that in the shower my brain was ticking over numbers, checking mental boxes; when did we last go food shopping, how much did it cost, do we need dental check-ups anytime soon, should me and Roxas wrangle Sora in for a haircut, etc. It just happened to occur to me that a few numbers didn't match quite right.

And so here I am, looking at bank statements.

And so when Leon called and asked what I was doing, I responded: "I'm looking at bank statements."

There was silence on the other end for a moment. "Why?"

I sighed and dropped the sheets of paper to the table surface. "My Dad has been sending less and less money recently. Sora and Rox got summer jobs so I didn't notice till now."

"So what's the problem?"

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes; Leon has his own apartment and his parents pay for anything he wants anyway. He's well off, not on the Argent scale of rich, but well off. "The problem is that with the amount he's been sending I'll barely be able to pay for this month's mortgage let alone the food and electricity bills."

"You have a job." He responded unsympathetically. "So do your brothers. Your sister sells some art."

"Cousin." I corrected absently staring at the numbers of the page, though to be honest I usually don't make the distinction. "They have jobs so that they have money to buy things for themselves. They got summer jobs to have a little money saved; I'm not going to ask for it to pay the bills."

"The bills for the food and electricity that _they_ eat and use," Leon responded, still sounding unimpressed with my predicament.

"Why did you call, Squall?" I asked, using his actual name, because he was pissing me off.

"Are you coming over?"

"I arranged it; of course I'm coming over. I'll be there in forty minutes."

"Come over now."

I sighed, opened my mouth to argue, paused, sighed again.I had to ring my Father, but I guess I could make the phone call brief.

"I'll be there in ten."

**

Zack and Aerith had arrived early and were pulling up outside Leon's apartment building when I got there. I glanced up, having been deep in thought and staring at my shoes since I parked my car in the official lot for this section of buildings. I stared at them blankly for a few seconds before my brain kicked in and I managed to drag up a smile from the only part of my mind that wasn't currently panicking or balancing out numbers.

"Cloud!" Aerith cried as she got out of the car, a beam splitting her face and making me feel guilty for the mock grin currently adorning my own lips.

"Aerith!" I held out my arms to hug her but Zack tackled me from the side and It took a great deal of effort not to go tumbling onto the grass.

"How's it going, Spike?" Zack asked when I finally hauled him off me.

I shrugged.

"Ah, same as usual then."

I nodded.

"It's a wonder you and Leon didn't die of boredom without me."

I shrugged again. Zack cuffed me around the back of the head and I laughed, slinging an arm around Aerith's shoulders and heading towards the doorway. "Your fiancé appreciates my silent, sensitivity."

"When we first started dating, Aerith thought you were a mute."

"She did not."

"She did, she asked if you spoke in sign." Zack grinned wickedly at me, and I'd have called him out for bullshitting but for the faintly pink tinge Aerith's cheeks had taken on. I laughed and glanced back at Zack.

"Christ, what did she think of Leon?"

Aerith cleared her throat quietly and I glanced up to see said man stood in the doorway where we'd usually have to buzz his room. He stared stoically at us – and if The Duo reckons _I_ do stoic they probably think Leon is a statue – before a small smile cracked his features and he responded in his soft voice "She probably thought I was a model example of a young man."

"Who spends too much time lurking in doorways." Zack added striding up the stairs and giving Leon a quick hug with the heterosexual pat-on-the-back – because Zack's gay day's ended that time Roxas caught us making out on the couch –and shot him a critical look. "And why exactly were you hovering so far from the sanctity of your apartment rooms?"

I gave a small grin at this and the words were on the tip of my tongue, ready to roll off, I was about to say '_Because I was on my way over_'. But before I got the first syllable out Leon had uttered "Checking my post."

"You aren't holding any post."

"No post to check."

"I sent you a letter." There was a pause for a moment and then Leon's eyes flashed triumphantly.

"No you didn't."

Zack just grunted and walked past him into the apartment. Me and Aerith exchanged a look, inquiring if that particular scene had gone straight over the other's head too. And yes, yes it had. So we moved on.

Aerith detatched herself from me and hugged Leon too and I gave a mock salute. Once inside and heading up the stairs Leon caught my arm. "You ok?"

I looked at him, clearly asking why I wouldn't be ok. He shrugged. "You were staring at your shoes pretty hard."

I sighed, "A few…issues. It's family stuff, nothing for you to-"

"We'll talk about it later." He said, turned and set off after Zack and Aerith towards the elevator.

I stared at his back for a few seconds before quickly tagging along after him and muttering a "Yes, _sir_," under my breath that he couldn't possibly have heard. He tilted his head to me and grinned as much as Leon ever does.

Damn his bat-like hearing.

**

We'd stayed up until the early hours watching movies that we constantly talked over and playing drinking games designed to have you off your face in seconds. Yuffie demanded a game of spin the bottle since, for once, we had a perfectly even ratio of Male to Female. Leon refused to join in because it was childish. I ended up making out with Tifa under the table. Because Yuffie's rules are not the same as any normal persons.

It was around four in the morning when I sat at the table in Leon's ample kitchen space, him leaning against the counter opposite me whilst I watched the ice float around in my cola; cola that would have been much better with vodka in it.

"So what's the problem?" Leon asked in a soft tone, barely audible and I glanced at the open door to the living room where Yuffie and Tifa were sprawled on the sofa sleeping and Zack and Aerith had gone for some 'fresh air' on the balcony.

"Dad." I responded bitterly.

Leon nodded, took the seat beside me, sprawled his legs out, slung an arm over the back of my chair and waited patiently for me to continue.

"He says he's not sending anymore money once the twins turn eighteen." I sounded tired, even to me. Not the 'I've been up far too long drinking and laughing and generally having a good time' kind of tired, the 'I shouldn't be the one having to worry about this' kind of tired. "They're going to be eighteen and he says he doesn't see why he should have to pay the bills for a house he doesn't live in."

"But…you're his children."

"Apparently not, apparently once the twins hit eighteen we no longer count as children and he feels under no moral obligation to support us, Nam and Dem's parents send a little money but it only covers their share of the bills and they send it directly to Dad. " I shrugged. "I figure I can at least wrangle him into paying _his_ mortgage, but knowing my dad his response to that would be to put the house up for sale, and I don't think I have a cardboard box big enough for all five of us to live in."

"You could stay here." Leon informed me softly, barely above a whisper and not looking at me, his eyes had followed my gaze and now we both watched the ice stay stationary ever as a rotated the glass. "Riku would be happy to have the twins – Namine and Demyx could-"

"No." I said, softly but firmly. "I want to stay together. I want to stay together in _our_ house."

"You could talk to your mother."

"I haven't spoken to my mother in nine months; I can't imagine she'd be pleased to hear from me."

"She's your _mother_ of course she'll be pleased."

"Ok, but I don't want to talk to her. She left. And she let Dad leave, you think at least one of them could take it upon themselves to look after their offspring, however fucking begrudgingly they do it." I hissed, taking a swig of the drink in my hands. Leon's eyes followed me.

"So we'll get you some money." He said simply, as though I hadn't thought of that. As though the thought had never crossed my mind, and when Leon said it like that – so matter-of-factly – I almost believed it was that easy and maybe I really just _hadn't_ thought about it.

I smiled a little and cocked my head towards him. "You don't say?"

"Sure," He smiled a little in response, or at least a tiny twitch at the corners of his mouth that substituted as a smile. "I know people."

"This is sounding a little Mafia-ish"

He laughed, "No, I mean I know people who might have jobs open. Proper jobs. Full time, nine-to-five, want-to-shoot-your-brains-out jobs, but jobs nonetheless."

"Don't ever go into motivational speaking, Leon, you'd send the population numbers spiralling downwards."

"Stop joking about it, Cloud, I'm trying to help." He said it as a reprimand though he never altered the soft tone of his voice.

"I know you are. I appreciate it." I took another drink, his eyes followed again, this time they stayed on my lips after the glass had left them. Then they flicked to my eyes.

"You don't have to do all this by yourself." He told me, and the arm he'd slung over the back of my chair moved a little, one of his hands moving upwards, fingers curling in the small hairs at the nape of my neck, directing my gaze towards him and I closed my eyes briefly before I met his gaze. "I know it's hard and I know that they are _your_ brothers and _your_ family, but you aren't a parent Cloud. You can ask for help when you need it."

"I know." I whispered back.

"Then why do you never ask me?" He said it softly and I marvelled at how we could still hear each other when our voices had gone so quiet.

"I don't want to be a burden." I replied honestly, simply. And it's true, because when Dad got a job that kept him away I couldn't help but feel he _wanted_ to be away, and when Mum left for Destiny Islands I realised that for so long we'd had our parents trapped together, unhappy and unloving and we hadn't noticed. And I didn't want to do that to someone else. "I don't want you to feel like you have to help me."

"I don't." Was the immediate response, tacked on when I'd barely finished my sentence, "I don't feel like I have to help, I just want to."

His thumb moved, caressed a few comforting circles into the nape of my neck. I turned my face fully towards him, his expression strangely unreadable and his eyes fixed on me like he couldn't look away if he tried.

"We'll get you some money." Was all he said, and then Aerith and Zack stumbled in giggling and Leon withdrew his arm.


	5. Chapter 5

A shamefully long gap between chapters, but I've not been in the right mood for writing recently, so if this one reads differently to the others that's why. Also I finished most of this chapter a while ago but can't for the life of me get the AkuRoku right. Typical that my favourite pairing is the one I can't write XP

Hopefully it isn't too bad though. So enjoy and reviews are very much appreciated!

**­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­**It was noon when finally got out of bed, roused by the sound of someone in the kitchen. Riku had driven us back at five that morning before he and Sora collapsed in his room to sleep. I'd shuffled around for a glass of water, and spent half an hour talking with Demyx, who'd heard us come in, and then collapsed on top of the covers. And now I stood in my doorway, squinting at the bright light invading the room through the kitchen and living room windows and the open door to the conservatory.

Cloud paused and turned to look at me, greeted me with a smile and a nod and went back to his frying pan. Sora and Riku were sprawled on the sofa clutching the X-box controls, Sora looking wide awake and Riku looking sleepy but still pulling off the stunning look. I think I hate him sometimes. He and his brothers could have been on a three day bender in which they ended up naked and dragged through a hedge and they'd still not have a hair out of place. And I'm pretty sure that actually happened to Kadaj once.

"You want breakfast, Rox?" Cloud asked glancing over at me. I tilted my head and gave him a look that needed little interpretation. The best thing after a night of drinking and dancing was Cloud's cooking.

"He's making pancakes." Sora grinned. "And scrambled eggs, and probably bacon since Riku's here and we all know that the Argent boys need a healthy breakfast."

"It's difficult to maintain this level of beauty on an empty stomach."

"Yes, I'm sure it requires phenomenal levels of energy. Not to mention the expert training."

"Years of intensive instruction just to get my hair to look like this." Riku nodded.

"Which is almost a shame because I very much appreciate the bed head look."

"Really? Maybe I'll pass on the bacon today then."

Cloud looked over at me and I squinted back, still stood in my doorway with my eyes adjusting to the light. "I think it's nice that they've found each other, no one else understands them." I told Cloud.

He grunted and pulled some plates out of the cupboard overhead but I could see he was smiling. I went to help and three minutes later Cloud and I were squishing ourselves onto the couch and handing over the plates to Sora and Riku, who didn't bother to pause the video game as they thanked Cloud and started eating.

"How was Leon's?"

"Good." Cloud responded absently. "He says 'hi'. He might cover one of your shifts next week if you want a day off?"

"Sure."

And after that, conversation descended into mostly "Kick. Kick. Riku _kick_. The 'X' button! You're not supposed to lose on purpose. You know what? You're banned from playing against Sora." And similar sentences flung around during fight games on X-box.

It was when we'd moved onto a racing game and Riku and I were now leaning back watching Cloud and Sora play, offering our own 'helpful' advice that Cloud turned slightly towards me – without taking his eyes off the screen – and said "Rox, could you go to the store?"

I glanced back at him a little sceptically. "Now?"

He shrugged, "If you want to eat again today we need food."

I sighed and shrugged, figuring at least I could take Cloud's car but when I stood up Riku followed suite and shuffled into Sora's room to find his car keys. Cloud and I ignored this and politely pretended we thought he'd slept on the couch.

"Thanks, the list is on the counter." Cloud said as he overtook Sora on a curve.

I shuffled over to the counter and grabbed the list and the money beside it and then went and switched into a fresh t-shirt and pulled on my chequered converse, didn't bother to grab a sweater. Riku was ready when I got back out into the living room, looking like he'd had a full nights sleep and never tasted a drop of alcohol in his life. Sometimes I hate that boy.

"Remember the milk, you always forget the milk."

"Don't bother to concern yourself with my wellbeing there, Cloudo." I replied sarcastically, "If we returned battered and bruised, don't think to avenge me or anything."

"Good. Get me some Coco Puffs."

--

Fifteen minutes later found us parked in the unnecessarily large car park of the supermarket with obnoxious fluorescent lights in Riku's Mercedes which can only be described as being arrogantly shiny as far as car's go. It puts Cloud's battered Jeep to shame and I'm pretty sure Demyx' old van leaks tears of oil every time Riku comes over and leaves it parked innocently at the curb.

I think I'm a little hung over – that or I'm suddenly a car racist.

Our house is on the quiet, residential side of Twilight Town so we usually do our shopping in the little delicatessens and family grocery stores scattered around the small streets near The Square, but since Cloud and Sora have filled the list with chocolate cereals, every flavour of pop-tart under the sun, sugary drinks, pastries and just the one organic tomato the supermarket seemed the best bet. Even if it is in the commercial side of town near the schools and apartments and ridiculous number of boutiques – ridiculous considering the limited number of tourists Twilight is host to.

"We can hit the cereal isle first." Riku delegated, grabbing the nearest shopping cart and swinging it in front of him, almost hitting me and a shelving unit in the process. "Since your brothers wants so much of it. Which is weird by the way."

"Hey, a Cloud cooked meal is hot commodity, he is in demand in many homes; we can't have him all to ourselves." I shrugged, shuffling along behind him. "Cereal is the next best thing."

"So you're all too lazy to cook?"

"Something like that." I conceded. "And Cloud like the chocolate cereal, Demyx likes the brightly coloured ones and Sora likes any with an outrageous sugar content and absolutely no nutritional value."

"Yeah, there's three boxes of Crusty Creams under my bed for the days he stays over." Riku laughed. "He adds marshmallows to it."

I nodded and stared at the space between his shoulder blades as we stopped in the middle of the cereal isle and I set about collecting everyone's favourite cereals without consulting the list. "So things are ok with you two?"

Riku shot me a sceptical sideways look. "In terms of?"

"Riku, we're stood in the middle of a mostly deserted supermarket, I think we can talk about it without fear of being overheard." I sighed, because it pisses me off when Riku acts dumb.

He shrugged, still wary, but the he sighed and leaned forwards against the shopping cart, jamming the wheels sideways so he wouldn't roll away. "We're fine, although he still doesn't want people to know."

"Which is stupid because we _all_ know." I muttered cheerfully.

"Yeah well, try telling _him_ that." Riku paused for a minute, "Hey you're his twin shouldn't you know why he…Axel."

"Shouldn't I know why he Axel? What does that even mean."

"No, you jackass. Axel. Axel is stood over there." Riku said pointing down our isle, across the centre of the store and into the isle opposite ours. There, dropping a bag of cheetos into a basket, was Axel.

"…shit."

"Shit?"

"Yes, _shit_." I hissed grabbing Riku by the elbow and manhandling him and the cart behind a huge crate of Fair Trade sugar beside a fridge.

"You don't want to see him?" Riku frowned.

"Because I would say _what_ to him, Riku?" I whispered, peeking around the side of the crate and deciding this was all Cloud's fault before Riku tugged me back by my arm.

"How about 'hi, Axel, last night was fun, we should do it again sometime'?" Riku sighed. "It's not rocket science."

"Says the guy who _isn't_ dating my brother."

"Asshole." Riku hissed.

My lips curved upwards slightly and I was just about to use the word _asshole_ in some sort of demeaning sentence involving Riku's relationship with Sora…only I'm guessing he recognised the look on my face. That's the trouble with Riku being around all the time, he gets to recognise when I'm feeling friendly and when I'm about to say something I'd deserve to be punched in the face for. Not that he ever _would_ punch me.

But he did push me out from behind the sugar crate and onto my ass, very noisily, back into the open area of the isle.

Where Axel now stood five feet away.

I stood up and brushed off my jeans trying to look nonchalant, like maybe I sometimes just like to fall over in supermarkets right? It didn't work so well, one of Axel's eyebrows shot up and the other tugged inward as he tried to comprehend what he was seeing.

A second later Riku strolled out from behind the sugar, cart full of cereal in tow and smiled dashingly because he's a smooth bastard like that. "Axel, what a pleasant surprise."

"Yeah, hey Riku." Axel said, raising one hand slightly and smoothing out his expression into a wolfish grin. I glanced between them and wondered when they got to first name basis. "I hate to break it to you, but I think you grabbed the wrong twin on your way out of the house."

I frowned at this but Riku laughed and replied easily "Ah yes, Sora was otherwise engaged so I figured I'd hijack Roxas' shopping trip, convince him to buy me sugary treats for my driving services."

Axel smiled at that and switched his gaze back to me. I stared back. "You gonna say anything?"

"Hm?" I frowned.

Axel laughed, "You still drunk or something?"

I frowned again and heard Riku let out a sigh and mutter something that could have been 'Neanderthal' "What do you mean?" I asked.

Axel's eyebrow quirked up again and he smiled, more amused than he was showing. "Well it's that or a concussion; you hit that lamppost pretty hard."

I paused. "I…what?"

"That lamppost," Axel repeated. "You and Sora decided to drag us to Kangaroo to see if Demyx was there – even though Riku reminded you he was at an open mic night – and you ran into a lamppost."

"…No I didn't."

"You did, I swear. Sora nearly peed his pants laughing at you." Axel smirked.

I stared at him for a minute, trying to decide whether he was jerking me around, heard Riku snigger behind me and felt my face beginning to flush because - shit, that could explain the throbbing, sensitive patch on my forehead.

And then something else occurred to me.

"What do you mean 'us'?"

"Eh?"

"You said me and Sora decided to drag 'us' to Kangaroo…"

"Oh," his smirk turned wolfish, "You don't remember?"

"Remember what?" I asked, feeling my stomach drop a little. The last thing I needed to find out was that I'd gotten wasted and tried to get into his pants. But surely then I'd have woken up with him right? That's usually how it happens; it would've been like that right? But then again Sora did say that restrooms in clubs are for sexual activity…but Sora was there, and Riku. There's no way Sora and Riku would have let me be dragged off by strange red-heads. Because that's irresponsible right?

"Rox, you look like you're about to start fitting," Riku frowned, "Please breathe."

I shot him a sideways glare because this was now all _his_ fault. "Remember what?" I asked, punctuating it subtly.

At which point Axel burst out laughing. "Jesus, calm down. Sora invited me to join your little trio for the evening, which seemed to mostly involve me and Riku watching you two do embarrassing, drunken things." He smiled and then paused briefly, "What did you think I was gonna say?"

I felt my face flush. "Nothing. We have to go now."

Axel's smile faded slightly and he nodded. Riku said 'bye' and set off down the isle, I ducked my head and went to follow but as I passed Axel he caught my arm and I felt a jolt of electricity shoot through every limb.

"Hey, maybe we could do something sometime." He said softly, not in my ear but close enough that I felt his breath on my skin. I resisted the urge to shudder and then wanted to kick myself, because one guy I hardly know shouldn't have this effect on me.

I tried to drag up some of my usual…well, I'd call it gusto but I'm guessing my brother's would use other words, 'bitchiness' might be one of them. And you know what? Why should I be freaked out by this guy, just because he managed to get me flustered that one…two times, doesn't mean he's like…flusterable…

I looked up and set him with a sideways grin, saw the way his lips curved a little, "'Something sometime' huh?" I asked.

"Yeah, you know. Movie or something – I'd say coffee but you might be sick of the stuff."

"I don't know, I've been told not to take up offers from strange red-heads."

"Well, look at it this way. You have two options. In option one we go out for a few hours, maybe we hit it off, maybe we realise it's not meant to be, at the end of the day we'll look forward to seeing each other again or you'll finally be shot of me."

I felt my lips wanting to quirk into a smile, remembered leaning against the wall in Pink, the cool tiles sending shivers up my spine and the electricity from Axel's hand on my scalp sending shivers everywhere else, and when you think about it 'something sometime' is kind of a reasonable request. I wasn't sure I needed a second option.

"Option _two_ involves me turning up at the Usual Spot everyday until you agree to Option One." He grinned and I laughed.

"Ok, fine. Maybe we can do 'something sometime'." I acquiesced, setting off walking again. "You know where to find me."

There was a pause and then I heard his brief bark of laughter, "I'll see you soon Roxas."

I raised a hand in some definition of a wave goodbye and reached Riku, who was stood quietly observing.

"You like him." He said, sounding amused and slightly amazed despite the fact that he and Sora had already established this.

I shot him a sideways glance and resisted the urge to say something unpleasant.

"C'mon, I'll buy you some sugary treats in return for your driving services."

It was a little after one thirty when I got to the Strife house, a small detached with a green front lawn and a path leading around to a back garden where I knew there was a patio for barbeques and a conservatory that could now only be accessed via Roxas bedroom and outside and there was a little pond that had Demyx's fish in it. The house was white in the way of a house that was white once but has been beaten with rain since then, their front door is blue and whilst the house is a good fifteen minutes walk from my apartment twenty minutes from Main Street but it's probably worth the distance for the more peaceful setting.

I didn't bother to knock and pushed the door open just as a cheer went up from Cloud and Riku and Demyx and the twins booed and threw a pillow at the back of Cloud's head, who only laughed and caught sight of me and yelled my name like he hadn't just left my apartment four hours ago. The rest of the room mimicked his greeting half a second behind.

"Come play with us Squally." He grinned and it was one of those genuine smiles, the ones that seem so rare from Cloud until he's surrounded by his family and friends and I felt my heart stutter and I smiled back despite myself.

"Aren't we going out?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow. I'd promised Cloud we'd look around a few places, talk to a few people, try and find him a decent job. He'd been working part time at – actually I wasn't really sure where he was working part time. But since he had almost three months before the next semester of college he'd be needing a lot more money to have stored away for winter.

"We can go out later." He replied whilst Demyx rifled through the box of games.

I shrugged. Because when faced with the dilemma of going outside with Cloud or staying inside with Cloud I think I know which I'd prefer; whether other people are around or not. I wandered over and glanced at the screen, another fight game.

"C'mon Leon." Roxas smirked, shot a glance at Sora, who beamed back and moved from his spot between his twin and his older brother and onto the armrest, mirroring Riku's position on the opposite side. Roxas patted the space between him and Cloud, "Squish in."

I adore the twins. Cloud has said he thinks they might be secretly evil – I think they're utterly fantastic. I might give Roxas a raise.

I dropped into the small space between Roxas and Cloud and tried to pretend that I hadn't noticed the way Cloud's thigh was pressed firmly against mine, Demyx squished back in between Cloud and Riku, who was sat on the armrest but with his feet on the cushions of the sofa, throwing what looked like M&M's at Sora who was trying to catch them in his mouth without breaking his teeth. For the first time I noticed Namine sat cross-legged in the single armchair adjacent to the sofa, she caught my gaze and smiled happily, sketchbook on her lap and pencils propped on one foot.

"Would you like anything to drink?" She asked happily, "Or eat? I'm acting as unofficial waitress." She said on a sigh she didn't really mean.

"Only because you're the prettiest, Nami!" Sora announced, sugary sweet.

"Yes, and you can carry so much with such natural grace." Cloud chipped in.

"And you're so friendly and wonderful." Roxas agreed.

"And you open soda cans in a way that makes them extra yummy!" Demyx nodded wisely.

"And the second choice for waitress is Roxas, and his people skills are appalling."

I barely managed to keep my character alive when Roxas lunged across the sofa at Riku.

--

It was four before we finally managed to pry ourselves off the sofa – quite literally since Sora and Riku gave up with balancing on the edges and forced themselves onto us, sprawling across our laps where necessary – and shuffled out onto the street, only released because we'd promised to come back within a few hours with snacks.

"You might want to grab some fresh clothes too." Cloud warned cheerfully. "None of us are working tomorrow, it could turn into a sit-around-and-drink-a-thon."

I nodded and smiled softly, not mentioning out loud how strangely pleasant it always feels to be automatically included in their plans; me and Riku working as an extension of their family. Instead of saying this I just nodded.

It was humid outside and without the air conditioning from the house we hadn't made it to the end of the street before I felt the back of my neck prickling with sweat; Cloud was wearing baggy jeans and a black t-shirt and shot me a sideways glance as we turned left at the end of the road to heading in the opposite direction to my apartment and towards Main Street. In this heat I almost regretted not having my car with me.

"You could always wear different pants,"

I glanced over at Cloud, completely unaware we'd been involved in a conversation. I let him know this by quirking an eyebrow.

"One day you'll just fall down dead from heat stroke. You don't even sweat as much as a normal person."

"So?"

"So it'd be just as easy for you to look sexy in jeans as it would in leather pants."

I paused, only for a fraction of a second, barely altering my stride, barely changing my expression, but barely was just enough because Cloud has always been perceptive until it comes to the blindingly obvious. He glanced sideways at me, clearly trying to decide what he'd said, running the sentence through his brain, his eyes widened fractionally when he found the word and he turned his face forward. His cheeks turned a half a shade pinker and his eyes were suddenly locked ahead.

"I meant from a girl's point of view."

"Oh did you." I said it deadpan. Not a question because I didn't believe him anyway.

"Yes, I'm sure _girl's_ would find you just as sexy in jeans as they would in leather pants. _Girl's _like jeans too."

"Probably."

He made a noise that could have been a frustrated groan and was quiet for almost eight seconds. "I wasn't saying that _I_ find you sexy,"

"Really? That's what it sounded like."

"Well it's not what it was."

We walked in silence for a few feet, a smirk twitching the corners of my lips and Cloud shooting aggravated glances at me every now and again.

"So you find anyone in leather pants sexy or me in particular."

He shot me a glare that clearly told me where to stick it and sped up so he was walking a step ahead of me. I chuckled and followed easily, the rest of the trip silent even when Cloud gave up and fell back into place with me.

Riku and I were under orders to get as much sugary crap as we could carry and/or stuff into the back of his car. That was our mission, and like the super magic secret agents we are we'd already gathered more marshmallows, popcorn and chocolate than any one pancreas could possibly handle and were on our way to get soda and debating cooking frozen pizza versus takeaway when I remembered I had another task.

Ancients stays open on Saturdays but closes Sundays, more often than not I get Saturdays off even though Luxord doesn't understand the computer system (of his own store) so as a compromise I pick up the book deliveries – because Luxord also doesn't entirely understand the concept of a 'second hand' book store – and bring them round so he doesn't have to close up shop for any length of time.

Riku had parked the car near The Square and we split ways, him heading off to the end of Main Street that merged with the busier road where the supermarket was, and I headed into the Post office on The Square and picked up my parcel without incident considering the blonde girl – Larxene – was working. With the parcel in tow I headed off to Ancients, resisting the urge to do unnecessary back flips but not quite managing to stop humming the theme tune to Mission Impossible. I dodged around a couple of people using my super agent skills and was not at all surprised to find Luxord in exactly the same position I'd left him in yesterday afternoon. He was sat in a chair reading a magazine with his feet on the desk surrounded by a stack of books that should be sorted and sheets of paper containing information that should be inputted into the system. I often wonder what Luxord does with his time. Work clearly is not the answer. I wondered once if it was like that film Mannequin and when only he's there on of the books comes to life and so they can only be together in private…but then I started thinking about how disturbing that would be and couldn't read anything for a week.

"You know, with all the book we sell – as a _book_ shop – you could probably find something more philosophical than a magazine."

Luxord looked up as I closed the door behind me using my shoulder. "True. But hopefully I'm setting a bad example to you. Seeing the error of my ways you'll set about reading all this fascinating literature yourself and thus can learn new and interesting words like 'philosophical',"

"I just used philosophical in a sentence."

"So I see my plan already works." Luxord dropped the magazine onto the table and dropped his feet to the ground. It looked like he might stand up, but at the last minute he changed his mind. Standing is a stressful thing and after years of drinking and smoking Luxord can't handle much stress.

Or at least this is what he tells me every time I ask why _he_ never does any work.

We opened the package, Luxord read out the book titles, I checked them off a list and then he closed it up again and stuffed it under the desk, no doubt that'd be my job for Monday morning. Not that I mind. I can organize a shelf in mere moments. I'm like an organizing hurricane, I'm a _whirlwind_ of alphabetising.

…

Roxas is right, I'm lucky I found Riku.

"Do you have a minute?" Luxord asked, glancing over towards the shelves.

I glanced over too, thinking he might ask if I had time to shelve them now. I suppose Riku could always show up after spending hours wondering if I was dead in a ditch. Then again he'd have to walk past to get back to the car in about ten minutes…

"Sure." I shrugged.

"There's a girl here somewhere."

I blinked. "The book girl?"

Luxord looked back at me. "What?"

"I uh…nothing."

"Karen!" Luxord called in the general direction of the shelves. I was pretty sure he was off his rocker but thought best not to mention it. Luxord likes to slip honey and whiskey in his tea so at the very least he could be drunk. "Karen! Karly? Carson?...Alice?"

To my great surprise a second later a girl appeared from behind the shelves, red hair to her shoulders and a pink top and skirt on. "Kairi." She corrected.

"Yes. Kerry. That's what I said." Luxord muttered. "Kerry this is Sora, the young man I mentioned earlier."

I stared for a second, trying to think _why_ there would be a girl hiding among the shelves and since there was one, why would they be talking about me. It was as I pondered this that I realised her first impression of me was as I stood beside the computer with my mouth twisted in a confused 'whu' and one eyebrow raised as I stared.

Even Luxord noticed and cleared his throat, elbowing me in the side.

"Sora, this is Kerry. Or Kari."

"Kairi. There's an 'i'." She smiled pleasantly enough, clearly undeterred by my Greeting Face. "Nice to meet you Sora."

"Yeah, you too." I nodded in response. "Uhm, what did you need me for?" I asked shiftily.

"Oh right yes, well. I just wanted you to meet this young lady. She's starting work here on Monday and you'll be showing her how things work while I am, uh…"

"Doing absolutely anything else?" I responded helpfully.

"Yes, that." Luxord smiled. "I just thought it might be easier to work together if you knew each other's names. And if, in fact, you were aware of her existence in the first place."

"It's a good thing to clear up." Kairi agreed with an amused smile. "Anyway, I'll take this one." She said holding up a book.

"Great," Luxord smiled, "And you get an employee discount." He announced turning to the computer. "…which Sora will have to program for me."

I sighed. Luxord is a technology retard. I once found him trying to send a text message on a calculator. Granted he's just stumbled in 'hung over', which with Luxord usually means 'still drunk'. I opened up the retail software and made a few alterations, added the employee discount, didn't bother to show Luxord how to use it, since he'd forget within five minutes anyway, and scanned the book for Kairi.

"Sexing the Cherry." I muttered with a grin, thinking of Roxas.

Kairi blushed a little. "It's for my brother, he mentioned it the other day and I figured I'd grab it for him…"

I smiled, "Well, I hope your brother enjoys it."

"The word 'sex' is in the title, he'll love it." She smiled back before turning to Luxord. "Thank you again, and I'll see you Monday morning?"

Luxord shrugged. "It's a possibility."

"Luxord is often seen only at a fleeting glance Monday mornings."

"I'm a very busy man Sora." He responded with a lecherous grin. "And you are very welcome Kairi. I'll see you…around."

We waved cheerfully as Kairi left before I turned to Luxord. "An employee discount?"

"Yes."

"Usually you just give me the books I want."

"Yes, but I am employing her as a favour to a friend of mine. I employed you out of choice because you are useful and strangely adorable." Luxord grinned affectionately.

I pouted. Why do I have to be the adorable one? Roxas looks the same and no one ever calls him adorable.

Mind you, it'd probably be the last thing they could say for a while.

"Sooooo," Luxord started with a smirk, "you two hit it off."

"…did we?" I asked, reading the synopsis of one of the new books.

"Yes, you had that whole...conversation type…thing." He waved his hands about as if to indicate a conversation. I might not be a professor of hand gestures but I don't think 'Circle, Circle, Jazz hands' is the internationally translated as 'conversation'.

"It's sad that I have to be the one to tell you this but a conversation doesn't always mean you've 'hit it off'." I smiled back, dropping the book to the desk.

"I'm just saying, you're young, _she's_ young, you'll be spending quite a bit of time together…"

My bran connected, I saw where he was going with this and I laughed, a genuine 'I've hurt my lungs!' laugh. "Lux, I have a boyfriend. Emphasis on _boy_."

Luxord stared at me for a few moments. "Really?"

"Yes. You've met him."

"I have?"

"Yes. Riku."

"Yes, I've met _him_, but what about that tall girl you're always kissing?"

"Also Riku."

"Really? Well. That explains it. I always thought you had a thing for butch women, I never knew a man could grow that much hair, the only times I've seen him when you weren't attached to his face he had it tied up."

I tried very hard not to die laughing when Riku came sauntering in a minute later to see if I was ready to go and Luxord muttered "Oh yeaaah."

"I hate work."

I glanced over at Cloud whilst my right hand rifled in my pocket for the keys to my front door.

"I'm either too qualified, not qualified enough or the pay is just shit."

I opened the door and held it open for him to come in before heading off towards the lift. It'd been hot today; I didn't really feel like walking up the stairs after wandering around Twilight Town.

"And no decent company is going to employ me because I go back to college in about three months."

The lift doors opened and I stepped in, Cloud following with a frown. I lent against the mirrored walls and was thankful for how cold mirrors are. Cloud copied my position on the opposite wall, falling silent and staring pensively over the shoulder of his own reflection. When the doors opened we shuffled out, still in silence. I fiddled with my keys again and opened the front door, we both walked in and the second the door closed behind me I pulled off my t-shirt and flung it over the back of the nearest chair – because it turns out I sweat just as much as a normal person on a day like this.

"Just keep looking." I muttered in response. "We only went to a couple of places, I told you I know people, I just need to get in touch." I turned to face him. "You've only been _really_ looking for one day you can't just…what?"

Cloud had spent the last few moments staring at me. Mouth ever so slightly open and eyebrows half raised. He closed his mouth, drew in his expression and replied, "Nothing."

He was clearly worried and not for the first time I felt simultaneously relieved to be an only child and guilty for being so carefree when Cloud had spent most of his life worrying about his brothers. "It'll be alright." I shrugged.

Cloud's expression switched to confusion and the he smiled softly. "Yeah probably, it's getting to the 'alright' bit that concerns me."

I walked towards him, still stood near the front door where it enters into the living room. Once I was stood in front of him I wasn't sure what exactly I'd intended to do, so I ended up putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'll help. And I don't see why you don't tell Sora and Roxas, they'll go ape shit as it is when they find out you've been trying to handle it behind their backs."

"I want that to be a last resort," he said distractedly, eyes on my face.

"Which? Telling the boys or letting me help?" I asked softly.

"You're already helping." He frowned. "You hired Rox, you're helping me find a job."

I leaned forward, didn't really mean to, not sure why I did it, just leaned forwards; closed the space a little. My voice dropped of its own accord when I told him "I have money. I could help you out that way."

"I'm not a charity case." Cloud said though he had half a laugh in his tone – his voice had gone just as quiet as mine. "You can give me money if you're hiring me to do something. Ever wanted a maid? I'm sure we could find the little French costume somewhere…"

He was joking. Of course he was, and I knew he was even if he had that flirty tone to his voice. It's not like it's the first time he's pretended to flirt with me. But something about the way he said it – never mind the mental image – had me rapidly approaching 'the edge', whether that be of my sanity of my self control I have no idea and before I knew it I'd moved forwards, caused Cloud to take a step back, pushed up against him, the hand I'd had on his shoulder now on the back of his neck, my other hand on his waist.

He didn't step away again. "What're you doing?" he asked between deep, heavy breaths, tongue absently wetting his lips and eyes flicking to my mouth for a fraction of a second.

"I…"

God, I have no clue. My thumb was running tiny circles on his hip and he shuddered slightly, the movement causing his eyes to half lid and I leant forward again, my lips brushing his cheek and he let out one breath that was almost a pant. The room suddenly feeling very hot and _Christ_ I should let go of him but I didn't. For a few seconds I did nothing and then ever so softly – my brain praying it'd be soft enough for him not to notice – I pressed my lips against the corner of his mouth; his lips parting minutely and his hard breathing blew hot air against my cheek.

And then I leant back, didn't completely relinquish my hold on him, but stepped away. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights and I wanted to kick myself. "I'll go get fresh clothes." I muttered softly and turned to head to my bedroom.

I barely registered the feeling of his hands falling away from my arms.

**­­­­­­­­ **

Namine and I had been playing Tekken for approximately thirty six minutes when she shot me a sideways grin, a look that would terrify me had it come from any male in the house, but from Namine it only made me curious.

"What?"

She shrugged, and I briefly admired her ability to shrug and keep her character dodging away at the same time. "Riku's here, Cloud will be back this evening and no doubt Leon will be coming with him."

I waited.

Nothing.

Namine always does this. She makes a statement and then instead of telling you the point of it, she expects you to understand on your own. Which is ridiculous because none of us are as smart as Nam and we're all boys so our brain's work on a different wavelength anyway.

"…and?" I prompted after a minute.

"And," She responded whilst pulling out some sort of insane punching-kicking combination that had my character knocked out within a second. Then she leant back casually like she _hadn't_ just totally wiped the floor with me and continued, "maybe Zexion would want to come over?"

I felt my cheeks heating up. "Why would I want to invite Zexion over?"

"Because you _like_ him." She said as though it was obvious; soft, knowing smile on her lips.

"What makes you think _he'd_ want to come over?"

Namine sighed. "You're friends; you do all sorts of stuff together, so why _wouldn't_ he want to come over?"

"But-"

"And you said he and Roxas got along."

"They exchanged about three words." I grumbled.

"And Roxas gave him free coffee." She smiled and I regretted telling her things then. "And if he passed the Roxas test, Sora will like him and if _they_ are ok with him Cloud will be too." Namine argued, one eyebrow raising and her lips tilting in a look that was almost smug – but Namine never looks smug.

"What happened to the days when we'd avoid bringing around love interests at all costs?" I sighed, pulling my mobile phone out of my pocket and fiddling with it thoughtfully.

"You all started lusting after your best friends." She grinned. "Now ring him."

I shot her a glance, sighed, wondered why my _younger_ sister felt the need to try and organize my life and then dialled Zexion.

"Demyx." He answered after two rings.

"Hey Zexy." I started, watching the TV screen as Namine started up a solo game. I felt kinda like the guy being punched in the face right about now. Only obviously I wasn't being punched in the face, it was like being metaphorically punched in the face. Because it was awkward…Maybe awkwardness doesn't transcend to metaphorical face punching huh?

And also I said 'like' so it's a simile now anyway.

"…Did you want something?" I heard from the other end of the phone.

"Uhm, well yes. I was wondering if you wanted to sort of like maybe come over later if you maybe sort of wanted to?"

I heard Namine make a scoffing noise, but pretended I didn't.

"…what?" he asked absently, and I could picture him almost-frowning whilst flicking through a stack of CD's to make sure they were in the right order. Which of course they would be.

"Do you want to come over?"

"You want me to come over?"

"That's what I said."

"I thought you didn't like us coming over in case we 'aggravate your potentially homicidal cousins'?"

"I feel you are the least aggravating of a bad lot."

"Charming."

Silence.

"So…will you come over? It's like…a thing. Sora has Riku over and Leon will be round..."

"Sure, I'll come over when I've closed up." He said softly. There's a possibility he was smiling, then again maybe phone static gives people artificial smiles. Or something.

"Ok, see you in a few hours." I beamed. He muttered a bye and then hung up.

Namine was half focused on the screen when she said. "I don't mean to be unpleasant, but you are almost offensively bad at conversation."

"Hm. I'll work on that." I laughed. "So what about you? Aren't you going to invite your mystery man over?"

She laughed, "What makes you think I have a mystery man?"

I shrugged, because that was a very good question. "I just do."

She smiled back at me. Finishing her game and resetting it for two players. "As if I'd bring anyone I liked back to this nuthouse."

…

God damnit.

* * *

Demyx Strife

* * *

* * *

Squall Leonhart

* * *

* * *

Sora Strife

* * *

* * *

Squall Leonhart

* * *

* * *

Roxas Strife

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** The last couple of chapters took much, much longer to come out than the first few, and I'm sorry about that, however, I am really busy at the moment. It might be a while before I manage to update again so I'm gonna say I'm on a semi-hiatus, hopefully I'll start updating a bit more regularly in a few weeks. But I love reviews (even if I forget to answer some) so feel free to leave one :3

**

* * *

Demyx Strife

* * *

**

I was trying to chicken out at the last minute. I'd called Zexion to tell him I wasn't feeling up to it anymore but, sadly, the first thing he said was that he was at the end of my street and would be here soon. For once I hated the fact that everyone _walks_ in Twilight Town, because now I felt far too guilty to tell him to turn around and march straight back.

So in the end I tried to smuggle him in through the back.

There's a side door on the kitchen that leads into the conservatory, which leads into the garden, and in the garden stood a slightly bemused Zexion, with alcohol; a pleasant – and as it turns out necessary – surprise.

"Is there a reason you're sneaking me in through the back?"

My eyebrows shot up and a smile flipped into place. This was an automatic reaction I'd developed during childhood whenever I was being asked a question about something I'd hoped no one would notice I was doing. It had started somewhere between Cloud asking "What happened to my crayons" and me eating Cloud's crayons.

"I'm not."

"It feels like you are."

"Well you feel wrong."

"Sneaking me in this way isn't going to help you once we're inside you know. They're bound to notice a new entity appearing in the room."

"You're an entity?"

"Who are you embarrassed of?" Zexion asked with an even expression and I felt my stomach curl unhappily. Guilt. Man, I hate guilt. Almost as much as I hate clowns and overly aggressive squirrels.

"It's not you." I told him with a sigh. "They know things. Embarrassing things, things they could tease me about for the rest of my life. And I don't know if you know this but they're all completely insane."

"You've mentioned that before."

"Not enough."

"At least once a week,"

"Yeah, I still think I've not gotten the point across."

Zexion sighed and dropped into one of four wicker chairs around a small glass topped coffee table. And it occurs to me now that my aunt and uncle really have no taste when it comes to décor. The most interesting thing in here is a dying plant that Sora swears lives off coffee. I sat down next to him and noticed that not only were the cushions hideously patterned but they were overly stuffed and lumpy. And fuchsia.

Now came the hard part because Zexion was looking at me expectantly, waiting for an explanation as to why I'd invited him over only to try and hide him and – guess what? I really have no clue what I'm supposed to say.

Fortunately I didn't have to say anything because a second later the door to the kitchen burst open and Roxas hurtled in and stopped dead in his tracks. "Aw crap."

I was sprawled in my chair trying to recover a steady heartbeat and Zexion's only reaction had been to raise his eyebrows. I'm wondering if I'll die of fright and he just quirks an eyebrow…that boy is ridiculously cool.

"What the hell Rox?" I asked after a second.

He shrugged casually and called over his shoulder. "Money goes to Riku."

"What?" I asked with an expression of total incomprehension.

"I bet that you were talking to yourself in lyrics again." And now I was blushing like a fool and trying not to look at Zexion, "Sora said you were having an intellectual discussion with the Coffee the Plant and Riku bet you'd snuck a girl in."

"Zexion isn't a girl." I muttered mortified.

Roxas cheeks twitched and I could see the self-restraint he was putting into not-smirking. "Same basic principle."

At this point, I think the only escape is self-combustion.

Roxas left the room and I waited until I could hear him and Sora squabbling before I dared say anything.

"Uhm…"

"They're all insane, I know, you've said." He cut in, standing up while I watched him with wide eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"Going to introduce myself."

I stared. "_Why_?"

"Because it would be rude not to." He said, as though the answer were totally obvious. Which I guess it is. But still.

I stood up and – with a deep breath – led the way into the kitchen.

Sora and Roxas were stood there whispering and when they saw us they stopped immediately; plastering on blank expression with Roxas holding a can of soda out to Zexion and Sora hopping up onto the counter and watching us with feigned disinterest.

"This is Zexion." I said, feeling the need to shuffle and look at my feet.

"We know." Roxas said with the hint of a smile, and I relaxed ever so slightly because it was clear Roxas had decided he liked Zexion and this routine was purely for the sake of humouring Sora.

"So you work with Dem?" Sora asked amiably, trying for casual and falling at the metaphorical hurdle of casualness.

"Technically Demyx works _for_ me." Zexion responded and if you didn't know Zexion you might assume he was stoned, but if you _did_ know Zexion, which I do, you'd know he sounded amused. "But yes, we work together."

Sora nodded and shot Roxas a look, and man I want to study those two because _something_ was said in that look. And then Roxas took half a step forward and asked just as casually – only he managed to pull it off – "And is this relationship of yours completely professional?"

I might have just died. Did I? I'd like to have just died. Is that possible? Just to expire from total humiliation? Because if Zexion didn't know three minutes ago that I like him in a maybe-more-than-friends way the twins of Anything-but-Subtle may have given him the smallest of hints.

And by 'may have' I mean they are bastards and I hate them.

"We've been friends for years, which makes the working relationship easier." Zexion responded, still with the barely detectable hint of humour. "Which you must understand well enough, what with having Leonhart as your boss, he's good friends with your older brother right?"

The twins exchanged another look before deciding to completely ignore the question as Sora asked, "And what are your intentions towards-"

"You know what would be great?" I blurted, probably looking both alarmed and manic because _for the love of God Sora be quiet!_ "Uhm, drinks."

Roxas tapped the side of his soda can. We all had drinks.

"Ah, but there is no alcohol in these." I replied matter of factly.

"Speak for yourself." Roxas shrugged.

I didn't manage to figure out whether he was joking or not because I was distracted by the fact that I love my sister - even though I hate her for getting me into this - because two seconds later she was at my side all smiles and charm and saying in her magical Twin-Taming voice "Sora, Riku's having trouble finding the game you wanted. And Roxas it seems a little rude to let Zexion provide all the alcohol, maybe you should get a couple of bottles from Cloud's stash?"

"You mean the stash we don't know about?" Roxas asked with a grin.

"That's the one." Namine agreed as the pair trailed past her. Then she smiled pleasantly at me and Zexion and left to help Riku and Sora.

"I am so, _so_ sorry." I groaned as soon as they were gone. "Sora and Roxas are like guard dogs, they don't mean anything by it, they especially didn't mean _anything_ by _any_ of the comments to do with our, uh, friendship…"

Zexion was watching me evenly. "I don't mind."

"They were only joking."

"It's ok." He shrugged, "I like your…twins." He said with a strange frown, one that I recognised because no one ever knows whether to call them my cousins or my brothers.

I smiled a little, a small tug of the lips because I was still too mortified to smile properly. "If it helps I know for a fact they like you. They didn't even threaten you with physical violence or anything."

Zexion laughed. It's sweet that he thinks I'm joking.

We left the kitchen – although I'm not sure if it counts as 'leaving' when it technically isn't an individual room, more like half a wall sectioning it off and that wall has a huge 'breakfast bar style' hole in it anyway – into the living room were Riku and Sora were once again sprawled over the sofa with controllers in hand.

"Namine's gone out." Riku informed me absently.

"Yeah, she's gone to a friends because she didn't want to be in the room with 'this much testosterone when the fight games begin'." Sora added with a grin and I can imagine his brain was coming up with all sorts of unpleasant things he'd have said about Roxas' testosterone levels, had Roxy actually been in the room.

"Do you do this often?" Zexion asked and I noticed his gaze was on Riku, noting the boy's total ease even in a home that is not his.

"Not really, it's just an urge that takes over sometimes. Riku is just always here. And is naturally that laid back. It's something in his genes, I think he's part cat."

"That was a theory to be kept in our heads, Dem!" Sora hissed in a stage whisper.

"You think I'm part cat? How the hell would that even come about?"

"Well, Riku, when a man loves a cat very, very much…"

I turned to Zexion, "I'm so sorry that I've done this to you."

Zexion only smiled. Roxas appeared a second later with a bottle of tequila and one of gin, then disappeared into his own room and brought out what looked like cheap vodka, leaving them on the table and disappearing for shot glasses and lemon and salt.

"Is it just me that doesn't keep alcohol hidden in my room?" I asked frowning.

"Yes." Sora and Roxas replied in unison.

"Though to be fair," Sora continued. "Mine is for medicinal purposes."

Riku scoffed, "I don't think 'I'm going to have a shot because I'm too drunk to remember where the painkillers are and it really _hurt_ when I ran into that wall' counts as medicinal."

"I think it does."

"I'm sure it doesn't."

"I rule in with Riku." I offered.

"I wasn't listening, I'm on Sora's side by default." Roxas called from the kitchen.

"Roxas' vote is discounted in accordance with the Not Listening Rule." Riku called over his shoulder.

"Please check page 34 of the booklet," I told Roxas, holding up a hand to stop him from arguing as he re-emerged from the kitchen. I kicked Sora's foot and he shuffled over so that he was leaning heavily against Riku – really? Does he _really_ think we don't know about them? – and I sat down in the vacated space patting the cushion beside me for Zexion.

He was giving me a funny look. "You have a booklet?"

"No." I said quickly.

"Yes _and_ no." Sora amended.

"It's not really a booklet so much at a lot of sheets of paper with crap scribbled on it." Roxas explained dropping into the armchair Namine had been sat in earlier, Zexion quirked an eyebrow at him. "We were very drunk. There's more or less a rule per page…with diagrams…and nineteen of the pages are nothing but stickmen doing dirty things...I hope there are no actual rules to those."

I'm thinking next time we get drunk and add to our 'booklet' we should include rules about what we do and _do not_ tell strangers, friends and crushes.

"And you all just…do this during your weekends?" Zexion asked, indicating the way we were all comfortably sprawled.

"No. Are you kidding? With the way Sora eats we'd be dirt poor if we did this on a regular basis. Sometimes it just seems right not to go out and get shitfaced on a Saturday night." I shrugged, sipping my soda.

"Yeah, occasionally we like to stay _in_ and get shitfaced on a Saturday night." Roxas grinned. "Riku _kick_. Didn't we ban you two from playing each other?"

"But it's more fun, I always win." Sora grinned.

"Only because you cheat." Riku countered.

"I do not." Sora pouted.

"I'm not rubbing my _own_ crotch."

…

Uhm…yeah.

I wonder what's the Spanish word for 'awkward'?

Roxas was doubled up laughing. Sora's face was verging on beetroot at this point and he muttered something about Riku having thigh cramp which only caused Roxas to laugh harder.

I turned to Zexion, who had sat down cautiously beside me. "Once again, I'm really sorry I asked you to be involved in this."

"Not a problem." He responded and if his hair wasn't covering the part of his face closest to me I think I might have seen a Zexion smile. An _actual_ Zexion smile.

And God did I want into that boy's pants.

**

* * *

Cloud Strife

* * *

**

"Turn left! _Turn left_!"

"Don't turn left, you'll go completely off the track!"

"It's a shortcut!"

"Into a ravine!"

"_Jump_ the ravine!"

"It's a car not a pogo-stick!"

"Who can jump a ravine on a pogo-stick?!"

I don't think they'd even noticed me when I pushed the door open and knocked it closed with my foot, our door hardly ever makes a noise and I'm pretty sure Roxas has something to do with that; it makes it a great door for sneaking in and out but it sucks for dramatic Slamming Exits. I dropped my keys on the little round table by the door, kicked off my shoes and fell into one of the two armchairs, adjacent to the couch and opposite Roxas.

Shit.

Leon kissed me.

Only he didn't kiss me.

But he would have.

Or would he?

Maybe it was a hug. Yeah. It was a hug.

With lips.

Shit.

"Uhm, you ok there?"

I glanced up at Demyx, oddly flushed and looking concerned.

"What?" I asked sceptically.

"Sora's been talking to you for the last thirty seconds." Demyx explained. His eyes looked a little…off. Something a little not normal but something familiar...

"Are we drinking?" I asked.

"_We_ are. You just got back." Roxas told me slowly. "You remember who you are right?"

"Funny, Rox. Alcohol. Now please."

Sora paused his game and looked at me sideways. "Dude, you ok?"

"Fine thanks."

"You look like someone just kicked a kitty in font of you." Demyx said, a little too loudly and a little slower than necessary, like he'd really had to think about the words.

Demyx doesn't handle alcohol well; where Sora goes hyper Demyx gets slow.

"…What?"

"Yeah, you look kind of violated in a 'there was nothing I could do to stop it' kind of way" Demyx informed holding out his hands and widening his eyes like he was reaching out to an imaginary scene in front of him.

"Carry on playing." I told Sora. He un-paused the game but kept darting sideways looks between me and Riku. Who I noticed, for the first time, was not holding a controller. And thus my gaze was inevitably drawn to some guy sitting beside Demyx on the couch.

"Who are you?"

"Zexion." The guy responded, "I'm a friend of Demyx'."

"Yes. We call him Zexy." Demyx beamed. "And sometimes Sexy Zexy, but we must never call him that to his face or a little bit of his soul would die and we'd have to clap and yell about fairies…" he trailed off laughing.

I looked over at Riku and Sora. "When did he start drinking?"

"At about seven." Riku told me with an apologetic smile. "He seems to be feeling quite stressed."

"I think that's my fault." Zexion said quietly. And that was kind of the end of that subject.

…

He tried to _kiss_ me.

Shit.

"Cloud." Roxas said softly as he re-entered the room holding what looked like a cola but smelt like vodka. "I can't help but notice Leon isn't with you."

"Oh…"

"And also I can't help but notice its three hours since you text us saying you were going to swing by his apartment before you came back."

"…yeah."

"Care to share?"

Uhm, no. Really no. Distinctly no.

I kind of did a bad thing. Not only a bad thing but an un-manly thing that I would be teased mercilessly over, should Roxas and Sora find out about it. I sort of maybe ran off. I know, I _know_. How cliché and womanly and romance-novel could I be? But what the hell was I supposed to _do_? I mean what was that? A comforting-hug accidental-kiss kind of scenario? Or did he mean to do that? Or maybe he tripped. Slowly. Maybe gravity broke.

See, if you were stood waiting for your best friend (who had just tried to kiss you) in an apartment (belonging to the best friend who just tried to kiss you) right beside the door (the exit from the place where your best friend tried to kiss you) wouldn't you maybe take advantage of that too? Maybe just slip out for a minute. And then start to head down the hall. And then start to head towards the lobby. And then maybe run off?

Ok, so I didn't run, I just walked fast. Very fast. And for quite some time. Three hours time, apparently. But in all fairness, I was freaking the fuck out; because _Leon kissed me_. Or tried to, or nearly did, or just thought about it _or_ this is all a horrible mistake and he's been sat alone for three hours thinking I've been abducted by aliens.

Shit.

"Any day now." Roxas said softly, still standing beside me.

"I…got lost."

"You got lost?" Sora asked from the couch.

"Yes."

"In the town you've lived in your whole life?" Roxas mused.

"Yes.

"And you're sticking with that one?" Sora inquired.

I thought for a moment. "Yes."

The twins exchanged a look and a sigh, it was an expression I was used to and currently grateful for; it meant they'd let the subject go, for now at least.

"Let us know if you change your mind."

"Sure."

And did I mention _shit_ because _Leon_ kinda almost tried to _kiss_ _me_?

My head hurts.

I didn't say anything for a while and tried not to think for even longer. I watched Demyx get steadily more and more drunk, watched Sora cheat his way to winning three racing games, watched Riku's face turn pink, watched Roxas get restless to watch films and watched Zexion do absolutely nothing at all. And then when Sora and Roxas argued and Roxas inevitably won on the understanding that Sora could choose a film, and then the lights went out and I was sat in a room illuminated only by flickering screens on the TV screen it occurred to me I'd spent all that time distinctly not solving my problem and sipping thoughtfully on the drink Roxas was regularly topping up.

On the plus side I hadn't been panicking. Much.

I don't think it counts when it's subconscious.

And so, sat there blatantly ignoring some sort of Mafia flick, I tried to mentally sort out the scenario; and you know what? I think maybe I overreacted. It wasn't exactly a _kiss_ now was it? And it wasn't exactly unpleasant. It was brief really; too brief to actually have been much of anything.

And so yeah, maybe I'd been breathing heavily on the verge of panting and considering pulling him closer or pushing him onto something and it's quite possible that I'd been staring at Leon's chest like I hadn't eaten for a week…but that was purely in appreciation of a notably fantastic set of abs.

…

And I mean that in the straightest way possible, because I only made out with Zack that _one_ time.

It's not as bad as it seems. I just panicked. It's fine. I'll talk to Leon in a couple of days, when we'll both have completely forgotten what happened except for the part where I disappeared; and then I'll just tell him Demyx fell down a flight of stairs and I'd had to rush back to check on him.

Even better, maybe we'll have to push Demyx down the stairs for realistic bruising; and it's a while since any of us saw Demyx fall drunkenly down the stairs.

Great work, Cloud Brain Trust, great work.

"Ok, right. This movie sucks and none of us are drunk enough to appreciate a sucky movie in all it's glory." I declared sliding off the sofa to kneel in front of the coffee table where Roxas had left the spirits and shot glasses. "From now on every time someone says something ridiculously cliché in the worst Italian accent you've ever heard, we all take a shot."

"Yay!" Sora grinned. "Cloud's back."

**

* * *

Zexion Smith

* * *

**

**­**By the end of the Mafia flick we'd made up more rules than we could keep count of and Demyx had fallen off the couch. So naturally, we put on a chick flick. Cloud, Riku and I made the rules beforehand whilst Sora and Roxas tried to get Demyx to drink a glass of water and Roxas got changed because he'd apparently been wearing the same jeans for thirty-six hours straight and now smelt like stale cigarettes.

Five minutes into the film we'd already been required to take three shots and I felt a comfortable fuzz settle on the world, the slight haze that isn't prominent until you turn your head and it takes your brain, or your eyes - or both - just a fraction of a second longer to catch up with your skull; you know that warm glow that comes from being tipsy. We all moved onto the floor at that point.

Roxas told a story about 'some guy' he'd been talking to in a club restroom when Riku and Sora had burst in and ruined the moment – which was probably a lot funnier than it would have been without the influence of alcohol.

Sora told us about his theories on Luxord's 'Book Woman' and I tried to remember that one to tell Luxord next time he came into the Blue Sitar.

Riku – not so regal after countless shots – did multiple impressions of his brothers and father, whom I now have every desire to meet yet would never want to spend too long in the same room as. Demyx was incoherent but kept pointing at Roxas and giggling the words 'coffee' and 'Marluxia'.

I ate more sugar then I'd ever had in one sitting and managed to rouse everyone into a mass game of truth and dare which we had to give up on after fifteen minutes, during which time Demyx completely failed to tell the truth, Sora snorted vodka through his nose when Roxas admitted he'd like to still be a virgin, Riku nearly cried of laughter when Sora gave an impromptu performance of Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne, and Cloud got locked outside naked when the twins claimed they'd forgotten how to work a locking mechanism.

We seemed to have moved onto a third film – that may have been a horror – when I ended up leaning forward, head against the edge of the coffee table, Demyx' feet in my lap and Cloud's arm around my shoulders as he tried desperately to finish the story he was telling me – something about a swing set and Squall Leonhart and some guy called Zack – but couldn't for the both of us wheezing in a way that made me feel like I might be sick if I laughed any harder. Riku and Sora had their heads close and grins on their faces and Roxas was sprawled under the coffee table smoking something of dubious origin even though we all saw it come out of a cigarette packet.

And God it was more fun than I'd had in a long time.

"We're out of movies!" Came Roxas voice from under the table.

"We only rented three." Cloud groaned.

"We need more."

"We'll watch an old one."

"We need pizza too." Sora said, shooting up and almost knocking Riku's forehead.

"Are you kidding?" Riku asked "If I eat anymore I'll puke."

I agreed completely with this sentiment but found myself joining in the plea for pizza half a minute later. The muttered conversation was punctuated by a strange, whining kind of giggle that made us all turn to look at Demyx, whose hair which was now some sort of…creature that looked mussed beyond repair and whose eyes now lacked the ability to focus.

Roxas rolled his head out from under the table and took a drag on his 'cigarette'. "I think Dem-Dem needs a visit to the conservatory." He grinned, surprisingly evenly considering he'd laughed until he choked half an hour ago.

"Why?" I asked, finding it a little difficult to focus myself.

Roxas shrugged, a motion that dissolved into the carpet. "It's cold in there. And when he's cold and he can see the pond and his fishies it sobers him up – in a way that defies biology or chemical reactions or something." It was half mocking half affectionate. Another drag and another puff of off-smelling smoke.

Cloud relinquished his grip on my shoulders, obviously giving up on telling his swing story. "Zexion can take him. Guest privilege and all."

I grinned at this although I don't know why, it wasn't exactly grin-deserving, and I think the expression came out weird anyway since Roxas snorted and coughed on the little pool of smoke he had created between himself and the underside of the table. I groaned my way onto my feet and then caught Demyx under the elbow as he sat up and dragged him up with me; he leant heavily against me almost as soon as we were upright and I felt him sway and felt all the blood rush to different areas of my body. Namely the legs I'd neglected for the last couple of hours and then my brain to counterbalance this. In all we stumbled merrily to the kitchen and into the conservatory and it's quite possible that Riku pushed Demyx half the way.

And you know what? That conservatory is magic.

The décor looks like style puked in there and maybe the plant in the corner could do with some water, but Roxas was right, it was cooler in here, and if you pressed your forehead to the glass you can imagine you're outside with the dew sticking grass to the bottom of your shoes and your breath coming out in mist, even though that wouldn't happen because it's summer. And I really did feel my head starting to clear.

I don't know how long I'd been stood there, with my brain telling me to get my head _off_ the _cold_ glass, when I really noticed Demyx was there. I mean, obviously he'd been there the whole time, and I'd known he was there the whole time but now he seemed to actually _be here_. His head was clearing too, I could tell by the way his eyes were fixed on me – the key word being 'fixed' as in 'focused' – though judging by the hazy smile and how inebriated he'd been however long ago it was that we stumbled in here; I'd say he was still much, much further gone than me.

"What?" I asked after a minute when the hazy smile didn't recede and he didn't look away either.

He shrugged, a slow, thoughtful motion that might have been both those things due to alcohol, "Nothing. You just…look kind of beautiful in the moonlight,"

My smile flickered and then spread into a grin because he wouldn't remember it anyway, "Pretty sure that's a street light Demyx."

He shrugged again.

"I meant to ask you something." I said, watching him tilt his head in a mirror of me, watching the way the streetlight – the moonlight, whatever light – caught his hair and scattered across his face, shards of shadow making it look like he had chunks of it falling in his eyes. There was something about Demyx…something about his air and his presence and the way he looked that has always had me fascinated. "About you." I clarified when I'd finished staring.

"Sure." He said, crossing the room and taking the chair I'd been sat in at the beginning of the evening.

"Why are you so…" And now my words were failing me. I'd had it perfectly, had it written out in my mind like a speech, memorised so absolutely that I'd never be able to mess it up, no matter how much vodka I ingested, but now it was failing me. "Protective…isn't right. Nervous? You…you're scared." I said finally, still frowning a little because that didn't seem to fit entirely either, but maybe it was a culmination of the three. "You're scared to let anyone meet your family."

His eyes met mine, though granted they took a while to get there, and I guessed that if he was sober enough to answer coherently he was still drunk enough to have forgotten this by morning. So I ploughed ahead, sitting down too, absently choosing the chair _he'd_ been in at the start of the evening.

"You me and Axel, we've known each other for years, and Axel and I have met your parents but we've never met your family. We've met Namine and she's a part of it, but until today I'd only met Cloud in passing and Roxas for a minute at the coffee shop. I don't think you've ever told me a story about fun things you did with your parents – or even your aunt and uncle – it's always your cousins. Then it turns out the guy in the coffee shop is your cousin and you'd neglected to mention that all the times we sat across from him in the Blue Sitar, and then Marluxia announces he likes Roxas and you blow a fuse… and then tonight having me here it's like you were preparing for…open heart surgery-"

"You think I'd get drunk to perform open-heart surgery?"

"No, I just mean…what could possibly be so awful about us meeting your cousins that you'd get this…_drunk_ over it. And it's only occurred to me recently that you've effortlessly postponed this moment for years. What could possibly go so wrong?"

For a while I thought Demyx was thinking of the right way to phrase his answer, and then for a little while after that I thought he'd forgotten I asked a question. And a while after that when I was thinking maybe the pizza was here he spoke, as though there hadn't ever been a pause to end all pauses.

"You might not have liked them." There was a frown on his face, like maybe he'd been as uncertain over his answer as I'd been over my question, and I guess this is what alcohol does to you.

I said nothing, waiting to see if maybe he'd carry on, expand a little.

"They're…my mum and dad never really…I dunno, they never really appreciated me and Namine. We just weren't what they wanted from us – we _aren't_ what they want from us - so they used to leave us with our aunt and uncle. We grew up with Cloud and Roxas and Sora, we're _used_ to them." he was grinning again, that hazy smile that fixed on nothing and welcomed everything, and his gaze drifted a little like maybe he was talking to the window. "But Sora is a hyperactive freak, Cloud is just plain scary and if you say a bad word against either of them you'll find Roxas ready to like…break your face…or something. As much as _I_ love them, maybe other people don't love them quite so much. Or maybe nobody else likes them so much as a group, maybe they want them separate."

He paused again, scowling as though this had been suggested by the window and Demyx was thinking of the best way to punish it. But then he turned back to me and he just looked vaguely concerned.

"If you and Axel don't love them, how can I love you and Axel?"

I felt my head cock again, though more from a lack of will to keep it upright then a desire to tilt it. "We don't have to love them, Demyx. You're supposed to, they're your family. If they don't love your friends and your friends don't love them, it isn't the end of the world; 'like' works just as well sometimes."

He nodded, partly comforted by my words and partly not believing any of it, but he nodded all the same, to show he'd taken it in for consideration at the very least.

And then we stayed like that - him watching the plant and me watching him – until the doorbell rang, and we went back through and watched TV and ate pizza and pretended like we hadn't had a drunken conversation about feelings.


	7. Chapter 7

**Note:** For the record, I hate this chapter. It's rushed and it's bleh. However, whilst I would like more time to re-write it, I am moving to England in four - three? - days and have no idea whether I will have computer/internet access when I get there...and I'm staying until September. And whilst there aren't many who actually read this story I would feel awfully, awfully guilty if I didn't update 'til September without any explanation, especially after all the positive feedback I've had!

However, I _might_ get to England and find I can update just as regularly, in which case I can take this chapter down and spend some time on it. Yay. But for now I don't know, so you'll have to have it as it is :P

Reviews make me dizzy happy!

**

* * *

****Roxas Strife ****

* * *

**

Part of my leg was vibrating. That was the first thing my brain processed Sunday morning; my vibrating leg. The next thing to register was a barely audible sound accompanying the vibration, a soft and familiar pulsing growing steadily louder. It took around four more seconds for me to release it was my alarm, and I plunged my hand clumsily into my pocket to shut it off before I woke up anyone else.

I groaned and tried to roll over, but found my face nestled in Riku's shoulder, Zexion's head on the back of my knees and Demyx curled against my side. After last nights copious drinking could no longer stave off the effects of sleep we had somehow stumbled as a tired mass into my room, partly because it was nearest and partly because six drunk boys couldn't work the door handle to Sora's room. Whilst I may be used to waking up with company in my bed, three other snoring boys isn't usually what I expect.

I managed to wriggle out from under the mass of sleeping limbs, replacing Zexion's head on Riku's knees instead, and avoiding treading on Cloud, who had hit the ground at four in the morning and only snored and rolled over whilst Sora and I tried to control our giggling. Then I tiptoed precariously out into the living room, closing my eyes against the sun streaming through the windows and ran a hand through my hair, having to detach it from the knots a second later.

"That's a sexy morning face." Sora said on a scoff.

I glanced over to the kitchen with a wince and saw him sat cross-legged on the kitchen table, bowl in the dip of his legs and spoon in hand, cereal box and half empty packet of marshmallows beside him. Like I said before, Sora is usually last to sleep and first one up, regardless of a hang-over. I was about to tell my twin exactly what I thought of _his _morning face when the toaster popped and Sora grinned at me and gestured behind him with his spoon. "Breakfast." He explained.

Chocomallow pop-tarts…I'd count it as part of a healthy balanced diet. I poked them onto a plate and climbed onto the table with Sora. "How'd you sleep?"

"Good, half on-top of Riku and partially under Demyx with my feet on Zexion. Strangely snugly."

"Yeah, who knew so many people could tessellate on a single bed?" I responded, nudging my pop-tarts around my plate whilst they cooled a little. "Usually it's a tight fit getting two in there."

"Ah, but clearly you are inviting the wrong people into your bed." Sora nodded wisely, thrusting another spoonful of cereal into his mouth. "Clearly you needed multiple males all along."

"…That's a vaguely disturbing thought."

"Isn't it just?"

I decided the chocolate would probably be less scalding by now, ate up my pop-tarts and showered, borrowed a pair of Sora's jeans and a t-shirt, avoiding my room and the slumbering heap, grabbed my skateboard from the hall and headed out the front door, calling goodbye to Sora over my shoulder.

The Usual Spot doesn't officially open on a Sunday, sometimes during winter afternoons Leon might open up, but since the majority of the business comes from commuters and locals there's no need to open it for tourist season, especially since coffee isn't the most appealing beverage in forty degree heat – air conditioning or no.

However, ten thirty on a Sunday morning does usually find me rolling down the sleepy residential streets towards the coffee joint; ready to collect together the weeks' receipt rolls. The computer system keeps track of everything well enough, but filing away paper evidence for Leon to go over later keeps everyone happy. Or everyone who doesn't have to go in for all of fifteen minutes on a Sunday morning _just_ to put the receipt rolls into a file. Because forty minutes skating for fifteen minutes work is stupid in anyone's books.

And thus, imagine my surprise when I got to The Usual Spot to find the lights on, the doors unlocked and the air conditioning working away. I kicked my board up into my hands and entered cautiously, noticing the door to the backroom was open and that there was the soft hum of Leon's laptop.

The back room on the left side is all shelving units for back-up stocks of coffee beans and takeaway cups. On the right is a desk with two chairs and a file cabinet containing shipping information and the daily sales reports going back to when the shop first opened. And today was the added addition of Leon and his laptop.

"Hey." I greeted cheerfully, dropping my skate board and rolling it under the shelves.

"You're late." He grunted apathetically. "By almost three hours."

I frowned and glanced at my watch. "I'm five minutes early."

"It's almost eleven." He grunted, closing the laptop and rubbing his eyes. I felt my eyebrows quirk up; he was looking a little ragged, even for Leon.

"It's Sunday," I told him slowly, in an attempt to spark off something resembling memory. "We don't open on Sundays."

There was a pause, a nice long, embarrassed pause.

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh." I'm not grinning. Seriously, it's a facial tick or something. "Have you been here since eight?"

"Uhm…seven. I had stuff to do." He muttered, pushing his hair out of his face.

"You had stuff to do that required you to get here at seven? You had stuff to do _at a coffee shop_ that required you to be here at seven?" He glanced over at me like maybe he wanted me dead. I held my hands up in a gesture of surrender, "All I'm saying is; ordering new beans does not take an extra hour on a day we aren't even open."

"I know." He grunted.

I decided to take pity on him and wandered out into the main area of the shop, flipped a few switched, added some beans to the grinder and set about making a pot of coffee. Leon followed me out and leant against the counter, waiting patiently until I poured the steaming liquid and handed him the mug.

"You look kinda rough." I said, making conversation. Vaguely insulting conversation, but we deal the hand we're given.

"I have the power to fire you, you know." Leon grunted in response, blowing on his coffee.

I watched him, waiting patiently whilst he took a sip, making sure he'd swallowed. "I can't help but notice you are in a rather coincidentally strange mood."

"Coincidental?"

"Well I happen to know another stoic twenty-something who came home in a funk last night." I said casually. Like I wasn't trying to get out of him what my brother refused to share. Me and Sora managed to whisper about it a little last night, figured maybe they'd fallen out or something had happened when Zack was over. Because whilst we all love Leon, he and Cloud are sometimes _too_ similar, and if they'd fallen out a third party might be needed to resolve the issue.

"Oh." Was Leon's response. "Yeah."

"Yeah," I repeated, slowly, slightly copying him. "You're both acting pretty weird, he try and molest you or something?"

I had genuinely meant it as a joke, I was still under the impression they'd had a fight. So when Leon choked on his coffee and then looked at me with the most _guilty_ expression I've ever seen on him, my jaw kinda dropped. In my experience, it's usually the one looking guilty that's been doing the groping.

"You _molested_ my _brother_?!"

"No!" He said, quickly putting down his coffee and holding his hands out defensively. "Roxas, honestly no."

And I calmed a little, because I don't think Leon is the type to stick his hand down his best-friends jeans. That's more Zack's territory.

I leant back, but left a dark expression on my face, because if he was trying to calm me down he'd be more willing to give me information. "So you best start explaining."

Leon sighed and groaned and then ran a hand through his hair and probably thought about sighing again. "Nothing."

I dropped my head to one side "So you _molested-_"

"Nobody molested anyone. Cloud just…overreacted." Leon snapped. Calming half a second after the words left his mouth and leaning against the counter again, crossing his arms over his chest in what looked suspiciously like sulking. "I maybe…I almost, well…I wouldn't even call it a kiss but-"

"You _kissed_ him?" I asked, a little louder than necessary and tone too close to gleeful for my liking. I cleared my throat quickly and kept a deadpan look in place.

He said nothing, shifted a little guiltily and then I felt my shoulders drop; it's no fun torturing him when he looks like such a sad Leon. "Well, I think I'm more surprised that you didn't even manage to keep it secret for twenty-four hours."

He glanced up, clearly confused by my change of approach.

"You aren't going to attack me with your skateboard or something?" He asked dubiously.

"Because you kissed my brother? Of course not."

He stared blankly at me. I sighed.

"Leon, I love my brother very, very much, but that does not change the fact that Cloud can be very, very dense. On the other hand, Sora and I are very aware of what goes on in Cloud's life." And here I gave him a pointed look.

Leon shifted again, uncomfortable now, and I decided if he still didn't understand what I was telling him I'd have to bang his head against the counter, height difference be damned.

"You and Sora…know?"

Alas, the boy can learn!

"Yes, Leon, we _know_." I smiled. Because anyone who doesn't know how Leon feels about Cloud just from the way he looks at him has to be pretty stupid. Cloud is a prime example of this stupidity. "Don't worry though," I said smoothly mirroring his position against the counter. "Me and Sora can help."

"Why does that prospect terrify me?"

* * *

**Zexion Smith**

* * *

It wasn't by choice that I woke up at ten past eleven that morning. Having only stumbled into Roxas' room at four fifty-seven, I'd have happily slept right through the day, but there was a soft, repetitive but inconsistent noise that was nudging at the edge of my consciousness and then suddenly half the bed seemed to lurch into life.

"Give me the phone! NOW!"

My eyes shot open as the bed sprang back from the weight of Demyx launching himself across the room and then the door slammed closed to the sound of Sora yelling love songs in the kitchen with the occasional shriek. I sat up a little too quickly, grabbed my head groaning and then rubbed my eyes and muttered under my breath about the noise.

"Yeah, he's like that on a morning." Yawned the bed in response and I knew the alcohol was still in my system when it took me a few moments to figure out that the bed shouldn't have said anything, and sure enough when I looked over my shoulder Riku was in the process of sitting up. "You can tell they're used to it." He commented with a grin, jerking a thumb towards the floor where Cloud still seemed to be out cold.

I 'hm'ed in agreement to this comment. I was used to going to sleep in a quiet apartment and waking up in a quiet apartment. With the exception of the times Axel might start banging on my door at six am to have breakfast together.

"What's this about?" I asked nodding to the door, on the other side the love songs had finished but there was some muffled yelling.

Riku smirked a little. "Camera phone; Sora thinks his cousin curled up on two other men is funny, Demyx respectfully disagrees."

My lips quirked a little, because I could imagine the vibrant pink blush Demyx would be currently sporting. I glanced back at Riku, unsure what terms we were on. I didn't really remember talking to him individually last night, "But he doesn't mind his boyfriend doing it?"

Riku's expression froze a little and then he smiled and his eyes crinkled with amusement, "Sora's not my boyfriend."

"Oh." I said, a little awkwardly; how does one respond in this situation? "I'm sorry, I hadn't realised."

Riku continued to smile, "No problem, it's a common misconception." He replied easily, swinging his legs off the opposite side of the bed to where Cloud was currently snoring. "We should check on them though, Demyx might have killed him."

I glanced back to the door and the silence that had descended on the other side of it, but a smile tilted one corner of my mouth upwards at the thought of Demyx attempting to kill anything. "Demyx isn't great with physical confrontation."

"I don't think that applies to other Strife's." He grabbed a hoodie off the back of Roxas' desk chair and pulled it on before opening the door. "Mind you, even a passive person could be moved to hit one of the twins at times."

I tilted my head at this and let my lips quirk a little wider; I wouldn't have agreed with the comment, but I did recall Cloud being outside naked for some time last night due to Sora and Roxas. I stood, more slowly than I'd sat up, and followed the silver haired boy to the bedroom door, which he opened after shooting me an expression of feigned fear.

Surprisingly Sora was face down on the sofa with Demyx sitting on his back, both reaching for the phone Sora was currently trying to shove underneath the couch cushions. He glanced to one side and spotted Riku, chucking the mobile to him before Demyx could snatch it. Riku caught it deftly, as though he'd half expected it.

"Now, now children. Let's behave." Riku said dryly.

Demyx's head snapped round to the pair of us, Sora's phone dangling between Riku's fingers and my quirked eyebrow. He had enough self-preservation to go a little pink in the cheeks.

"Sora," Demyx began, clearing his throat and sitting up straight, "is violating my human rights."

"You're sitting on me." Sora responded from beneath his cousin with a look of slight disbelief.

"I should be able to sleep in peace without having my darling cousin photograph me for his amusement." Demyx reprimanded, adding a little bounce that made Sora 'unf'. The thought of intervening briefly crossed my mind, but I decided against it.

"You are _still_ sitting on me."

Demyx ignored Sora and continued, "Thus, I petition the right to use him as my personal sofa."

Sora's lips quirked down into a frown. "Ri-kuuu, make him get off me."

Riku 'hmm'ed and opened the phone's menu and image files, flicked through, found the most recent ones, He turned the phone slightly so that we could both see the screen and I felt a laugh catch in my throat. Demyx had his head pressed against the small of Riku's back, partially over his rear, his legs tangled with mine and a dopey, sleepy smile plastered across his face

Anyone who knew Demyx would just think he was dreaming about water-proof guitars, but I could see why he'd be embarrassed about it. Riku grinned, "Motion carried."

Demyx cheered, Sora pretended to sob. Cloud choked on a particularly loud snore from within Roxas bedroom and the front door opened quietly to admit Namine, who took one look around the room – her brother and cousin on the couch, their two spectators, the bottles and DVD cases and game controllers all around, the skittles scattered rainbow-style across the floor and the empty pizza boxes – and sighed.

"A successful evening, I take it?" She asked, smiling warmly.

Sora tried to say something but found his mouth was full of couch cushion. Demyx beamed, "Quite a marvellous night thanks, dear darling sister. How's the mystery man?"

I flicked my gaze back to Namine, watching her reaction with what might have verged on intrigue. In all the time I'd known Namine I couldn't think of a single relationship she'd been in. Marluxia jokes that I'm asexual; at one point I'd had a similar opinion about Namine.

The only female Strife smiled indulgingly and responded; "Unless you think I'm sleeping with a new friend's father, there is no mystery man,"

"I frown upon this age gap, but I choose not to judge." Demyx said with what he probably thinks was a wise nod.

"Good to know." Namine smiled pleasantly and turned her gaze to me. I've noticed before that she is the a peace keeper, she has a different smile for everyone and I don't think I know a single person she doesn't get along with. Her smile for me is usually warm, an extra sparkle in her eyes like she knows something I don't. It doesn't bother me. "Zexion, you survived the night."

"Barely," I replied, but quirked a brief smile in her direction. She beamed back at me.

We all jumped when Sora's phone blasted into life.

"I need to get that!" He said. Or at least I think he did, some of it was deformed by the material pressed firmly into his face.

"Really? Urgent call is it?" Demyx asked, completely unsympathetic. "A sofa with a hectic social life?"

"It's Roxas' ringtone." Riku explained with a smile as he moved and sat in the armchair.

"Rox knows where you are if he needs you," Demyx told Sora, poking him in the side for emphasis.

"It's Roxas' _important_ ringtone." Sora whined, managing to lift his head enough to say it clearly.

"The phone does not have a different ringtone for when the call is important."

"Yes it does."

"A phone can't tell the difference between an important call and a regular call."

"Maybe _your_ phone can't."

"So if someone called to say I was dead your phone would play the funeral march?"

"No, it'd cheer,"

I've always been an only child, and I've never formed a definitive decision on whether this is good or bad. For instance I've never had to split my parents' affection, I've never had to fight for the best toys or the best clothes or the best education. On the other hand I come to the Strife household and wonder if I'd have been different had I had siblings. If I'd be more friendly, if I'd smile more, if I'd understand people better, if I'd be nicer all round. My conclusion usually gets lost when I'm dragged into conversation.

Content as I would have been to watch this exchange continue, the door behind me was wrenched open a second later and a rather frightening Cloud appeared at the threshold.

"I will kill the person that stops that phone being answered."

There was a general pause in the room before Sora said easily – and with a slightly smug air – "I can't answer my phone Cloudo, Dem is sitting on me."

At the same time Riku pressed the 'answer' button, Cloud took two threatening strides into the room and Demyx rolled himself sideways over the back of the sofa.

I didn't know Demyx could move so fast.

**

* * *

Squall Leonhart

* * *

**

Roxas had changed tactics in such a swift movement I was left a step behind, staring at him in what could probably be most accurately described as dubious confusion. Apparently the 'incident' with Cloud was not at all a bad thing, in Roxas' own opinion, and he was now set on 'helping' me and Cloud 'understand our emotions'.

I will state, for my own record, that I _was_ not, _am_ not, and will _never_ be in any way enthusiastic about a Strife saying 'I can help you with that'. And though Roxas level of competence and trustworthiness is a close third behind Cloud and Namine, I was not at all thrilled to have him shoot me his attempt at a pacifying smile as he pulled out his phone and dialled The Mad House.

Roxas had put the mobile on the counter, edited it to speakerphone and watched it intently as it rang. All I knew was that he was calling 'an expert'. I hadn't had the presence of mind to ask 'an expert in what', hadn't really thought about who he was calling at all until the other end of the line picked up on the ninth ring and Riku's voice answered smoothly into the receiver over background sounds of what might have been whimpering.

"Hey, Sexy, I need Sora." Roxas muttered absently, checking his fingernails for imaginary dirt.

"Sora's a little busy right now; can I ask what this is in regard to?" Riku responded, and yes, that was definitely the sounds of panic in the background.

Roxas deliberated for a moment, "I'm afraid it's private and confidential, Sweetheart."

"I can promise discretion on my part?" Riku returned pleasantly.

Whilst Roxas sometimes uses blatant lies under the guise of 'sarcasm', I am still pretty sure Sora isn't an expert in anything; unless marshmallows now require an educational process. So I shot Roxas a loosely quizzical glare and rubbed my temples to try and sooth the throbbing headache.

"You're discretion won't cut it. It's not _my_ private and confidential matter." Roxas replied evenly, and after a pause added; "Love Muffin."

Riku sighed. "I'll see what I can do…and stop calling me pet-names; you know it freaks me out."

Roxas smirked to himself whilst we heard a brief scuffing sound and the noise went dead; the receiver was covered.

"An expert?" I asked blankly, giving him an equally emotionally void stare.

"Yeah," Roxas said with a shrug, like it was obvious. "A Cloud expert."

"A Cloud expert?" I deadpanned.

"Yeah." He said, tapping his phone against the counter impatiently. "A Cloud expert." He repeated.

I shook my head at him slightly, not sure whether I was amused or horrified.

The was a little more scuffling from the other end of Roxas mobile and then Sora's voice chirped up; "Yellow?"

"Is Demyx ok?" Roxas asked abruptly.

"Sure, but we feel he is to blame for Cloud's conscious state."

I felt my stomach drop a little and then felt vaguely pathetic that just the knowledge that Cloud was awake, and in the room with the kid on the phone twenty minutes away, could make me feel guilty. I jolted forwards minutely to shake it off.

"Obviously." Roxas responded, shooting me a sideways look that said he could be every bit as perceptive as his big brother. "Anyway, your assistance is required."

"With what?" Sora asked, sounding dubious. And rightly so, I'm fairly sure the last time Roxas came up with a scheme one of the other strife boys ended up dyed green and tied to a tree. I chose not to ask about that particular…event.

"'With what'?" Roxas mirrored, "Your brother – your brother _in arms_ no less! – wants your help and you ask 'with what'?"

"Yeah, it all depends on whose arms you're in." Sora responded evenly, barely finishing the sentence before he laughed at his own joke. I sighed and rolled my eyes heavenward.

"No one thinks you're funny." Roxas sighed.

"I disagree, _I_ think I'm hilarious." There was the soft sound of a door shutting and the background noise disappeared, and I wondered if Sora knew more about what Roxas wanted than he was letting on.

I cleared my throat quietly; because if Roxas wasn't going to come to some sort of point I could quite easily go home. In fact I kept my voice quiet and told him as much.

"Is that Leon?" Sora asked before I'd gotten past the word 'point'.

"Yes." I responded without particular enthusiasm.

"He sounds pissed off, Rox."

Roxas glanced at me and clucked his tongue, "He's got a face like a smacked arse too." He turned to fully address me "I can say that to you without fear of consequence, you know…because you molested my brother."

"He did _what_?" The phone erupted.

"I didn't do _anything_." I strained.

"I see why you called." Sora said sounding as wise as Sora ever does. "You need a Cloud expert."

I sighed, heavily. "Can we use another terminology please? I don't think anyone other than Cloud can really be an 'expert' on him."

"Au contraire my friend, Cloud does not know himself, he wanders lost in the forest whilst the path disappears and me and Roxas watch from the sidelines; understanding everything whilst we drink our tea and live it up with the caterpillar."

I stared at the mobile for a moment, blinking slowly, trying to decided whether I really wanted to understand that. In the end I asked, "What?"

"Alice in Wonderland, man," the phone threw Sora's voice out with a tone of disgust. "Why do you hate Disney, Leon? Why?"

I shifted my gaze to Roxas, who shrugged in response. Then I dropped my head into my hands and rubbed my temples.

"Is he doing the headache thing?" Sora's voice chirped. And now that I noticed it, Sora had an annoyingly chirpy voice. "The situation might be more dire than I first thought, Rox."

"Indeed it might be. In fact," Roxas lowered his voice a little and shuffled so his shoulder was between me and the mobile phone. "I believe it's time for Operation Noctilucent."

There was a pause on the end of the phone and for a moment the sound of Sora breathing filled the empty coffee shop.

"…I thought that was the one where we find Cloud under the influence of heavy narcotics and try to decide what humility to bestow upon him?" Sora asked and I thought I heard Riku chuckling in the background.

Roxas sighed, hopping onto the counter to sit beside the phone. "Excuse me if we don't have a plan for when Cloud's best friend sexually harasses him."

I grit my teeth and started to defend myself but before I could Sora laughed and said "Operation Cumulus."

"Cumulus?" I ventured warily.

"It's a, uh…vertically ascending cloud." Riku said from the background, not hiding the grin in his voice, I flicked my eyes to Roxas who was staring intently at a coffee machine and trying to control his facial expression.

"Good God." I muttered, rubbing my temples and wishing I'd just stayed in my apartment that morning. "I assure you both, this is completely unnecessary, we had a _misunderstanding _it wasn't some sort of…crime scene."

There was a disbelieving silence that hung in the air for a few minutes. Until now, I hadn't known mobile phone static could be condescending.

Then Roxas leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and asked; "So we'll see you and Riku at Leon's place in half an hour?"

--

Thirty seven minutes later I had a throbbing headache and felt that hindsight was mocking me. Roxas sat at the kitchen table, one foot rolling his skateboard backwards and forwards on the linoleum floor and eyes wandering the ceiling. The phone for the main door rang and I buzzed them in without even checking who it was. Three minutes later Sora burst in without knocking and Riku tagged quietly behind.

I felt a sigh of exasperation escape before I could contain it. Once Upon A Time Cloud had hated me and I hadn't had to deal with his insane siblings and my unintentional…flirting?

"Ah…the Brain Trust has congregated." Sora said, in what might have been an impression of a movie star, but sounding a little like Eyeore.

"Yeah," Roxas said with a nod, "Now we can get to work trying to help-…Riku are you wearing my hoodie?"

Riku glanced down at himself briefly. "I didn't think you'd mind…Love Muffin."

I thought about crying. I hadn't slept, I felt guilty and there were three idiots stood in my apartment smiling nonchalantly at me and thinking they would help. If I didn't have any self-respect, maybe I'd just crawl back into bed.

"Sooo," Sora started. "You want to screw my brother. Awkward, right?"

I stood up and headed down the hall.


	8. Chapter 8

**Well, Howdy.**

It's kinda short, and it's been a while so it might be disjointed but Hey! it's a chapter! Hope you enjoy.

* * *

**Squall Leonhart**

"You can't just pretend nothing ever happened," Roxas announced, tone frustrated. "If you pretend nothing ever happened, then nothing will have ever happened and nothing _will_ ever happen, get it?"

Not really.

I sat at the large, round kitchen table with a beer in hand and a throbbing in my temples that didn't want to go away, I rubbed my eyes for about the hundredth time in the last hour and thought seriously about firing Roxas. It couldn't be too hard to replace him, could it? Find another kid that would happily work nearly every shift under the sun without complaining and practically run the place by himself so I can have a nice summer? Not too hard right?

I sighed and settled a glare on Roxas, because the kid is too good at his job.

Right now the twins were sat opposite me, their legs stretched out in front of them, crossed at the ankles, and their arms folded over their chests, mirroring each others pose and setting me with duplicate stares. I'm pretty sure it's something they've pulled off a cop show and I almost smiled. Riku was sitting on the arm of the sofa a little way away; he was half listening to us, I knew, but he'd put the TV on when he got here, telling me this was none of his business and he was just Sora's ride. I was thankful for that.

Sora's idea of being a Cloud expert seemed to involve saying partly philosophical things under the guise of them being Clouds 'troubled thoughts and emotions'. I rubbed my eyes again - one hundred and one - and wished I had something stronger than beer in the apartment.

"See, here's what we've concluded," Roxas started, legs moving under his chair, arms unfolding as he leant them over the table – Sora changing position in synchronisation "Cloud likes you-"

"We think," added Sora.

"But he doesn't _know_ he likes you-"

"Because he's dumb,"

"But now _we_ know _you_ like _him-_"

"Because it's obvious,"

"So now Cloud needs to know how you feel, so he can realise how _he_ feels. And then all our feelings are shared. See?" Roxas grinned and the twins leant back in their chairs and folded their arms again. Case closed.

I stared. "Wouldn't it be better to just forget it ever happened?"

Sora made a noise like he was about to choke and Roxas threw his arms in the air, mouthing to the sky and shaking a fist.

"_No_," Sora had recovered, but sounded exasperated, "Because Cloud is planning to forget it ever happened"

"How do you know what Cloud is planning?" I asked tiredly.

"We know," The twins replied in unison. Roxas continued, "So like we said, if _you_ pretend it never happened, what exactly are you going to achieve? No kissing, that is what."

"Exactly." Sora picked up with a grin, "if Cloud is going to forget it, Leon you need to man up and do the reminding,"

"But wait until Cloud has had time to cool off," Rox added with a smirk.

"But…how do I go about…reminding him," I asked, awkward because I suddenly realised how very childish this all was. Asking Cloud's brothers for help. His younger, deranged brothers.

The twins looked at each other and paused. A glorious stretch of silence that I hoped might last longer, but eventually Roxas said "Oh. Yeah, that could work,"

I got the distinct impression they had decided something without me, something that might not have been said out loud. My expression dropped into a deeper frown as I realised I was being left out of the loop.

"What might work?" I asked, and my voice sounded annoyed and dangerous even to my own ears. I blame the twins, this is the affect they have on Sundays.

Roxas quirked an eyebrow in amusement and I thought about firing him again, "Pretend it never happened."

Silence.

"Pretend it never happened? You have spent an hour in my apartment giving me a headache to tell me to carry out my original plan?" My voice rose but I just sounded tired now. The twins are exhausting at the best of times, I glanced towards the bedroom and thought longingly about going back to sleep.

"Well not exactly," Sora started with a pleasant smile, "You let him forget about it for a little while, get yourselves back on the ol' friendship train tracks," he did a strange elbow wiggle that might have been a train impression…somehow, "and then - now that his big dense brain has a big smoochy clue about how you feel about him- you gently remind him of those few seconds of passion. Bring it up carefully though, don't want to scare him away."

I didn't know why Sora finished of his statement talking like a hill-billy, and I chose not to ask. Roxas was nodding along sagely and even Riku's expression seemed to say it was probably the best choice. And to be honest, I didn't have any better ideas.

While I knew full well that by myself my conclusion would have been to never mention it ever again, or simply find a new best friend, I didn't feel the need to tell the twins I was grateful for their help, even if all they did was expand on my own idea. I'd have probably come up with this eventually. Way down the line. One day.

I winced, "Thanks?"

Roxas' jaw dropped, "Good _Got in Himmel_"

"And also _Dios mio_" Sora added. "He thanked us."

"He did,"

"For being only marginally helpful,"

"We were."

"And he _thanked_ us,"

"For practically nothing,"

My face deadpanned. "Get out."

Sora smiled while Riku stood and fished his keys out of his pocket. The twins jumped up and Roxas gripped my shoulder, "I'll keep you up to date on Cloud."

I gave a small nod and waved my hand in the general direction of the three of them. I heard Roxas heading down the hallway on his skateboard, and yelled at him over my shoulder, he yelped and laughed and then the door slammed shut behind the two stooges and Riku.

Why was I left with a very, very bad feeling about it all?

* * *

**Cloud Strife**

I took full advantage of the fact that both twins had left the house. I climbed into my sweat pants and an old t-shirt, lined up as many glasses of water as I could along the coffee table - so I wouldn't have to get up for a while - and nestled myself down against one of the couch arms, resting my head on a pillow and wallowing in my hangover.

Demyx and Zexion joined me, none of us felt like going outdoors - "That's where the _sun_ is waiting to _hurt_ us," was Dem's take - having already exerted ourselves enough for one morning. We put the chick flick we'd rented on again and the three of us were laid there drifting in and out of consciousness when Namine appeared beside me, stroking my hair briefly and dropping two headache tablets on the table next to my twelve glasses of water.

"How was your evening?" Demyx asked, possibly for the second or third time that morning, chipper tone covering what might have been suspicion. Which in itself was suspicious. I slid my gaze to Namine, but she didn't seem to hear the same tone I did.

"Very pleasant, thank you," She replied, eyes on the film as she nestled into her favourite arm chair with a new art book.

"Oh yeah? What did you do?"

Namine shrugged, a motion that she still managed to pass off as graceful, "Watched films,"

I slid my gaze back to Demyx - without moving my throbbing head - he was nodding thoughtfully, seemingly satisfied with this answer. My eyes went back to the TV.

"You know," I said quietly, "If Rox or Sora were here, they'd put the headache tablets in my mouth and feed me the water…"

Namine smiled but didn't look up from her book, "Well that will be a nice treat for them when they get home, wont it?"

I sighed dramatically and shuffled into an upright position, grabbing the tablets and a glass of water, the whole process feeling far too strenuous. I was just laying back down when I heard a beep from somewhere.

Sticking a hand under the sofa and groping around, my fingers brushed my phone, I pulled it out and unlocked the screen where a cheerful blue message told me I had one missed call from about one-fifty-three that morning. Leon. My thumb hovered over the Call button for a minute, but then I closed the message and laid myself back down on the sofa.

Leon could wait until my head wasn't pounding. But even as I thought that my heart had picked up speed and a little bubble of panic nestled in my stomach. This is ridiculous, being scared of my friend just because we had some sort of…misunderstanding. I'd probably got completely the wrong end of the stick and Leon is furious and worried that I disappeared without a word.

But then again why would he wait until almost two in the morning to ring?

I'd call him later. Probably. Eventually. And maybe the best thing to do would be to just pretend that nothing had ever happened.


End file.
